


A Tale of Two Bounty Hunters

by DeputyDoughnut



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Blow Jobs, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Mando'a, Oral Sex, Orgasm, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader-Insert, Rough Sex, Sex, Sexual Assault, Sexual Tension, Shameless Smut, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Strong Female Characters, The Helmet Stays On
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:47:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 88,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23861035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeputyDoughnut/pseuds/DeputyDoughnut
Summary: You are a Bounty Hunter that accepted one bounty that ended up being way more than you bargained for.Newest Chapter: Chapter 20 The New Republic
Relationships: Din Djarin/Reader, Din Djarin/You, Mando/reader, Mando/you, The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV) & Reader, The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)/Reader, The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)/You
Comments: 173
Kudos: 562





	1. The Job

Chapter 1  
The Job

You’re a Bounty Hunter. A damn good one in fact. No amount of pucks you’re given deters you from the reward of the hunt, and the credits. It’s somewhat rare for a female to be as successful as you, you’ve heard of some on far off distant planets, but in your system, you’re known as one of the best.  
  
You’ve refused to let stereotypes get in your way… “Female are too emotional and gullible to be able to be successful as Bounty Hunters!” “Females are too weak to be able to take down male bounties”… the list goes on and on. You’ve heard it too many times to count. But now, with your reputation, you would just shake your head and take another sip of your drink at the Cantina.  
  
You pride yourself on bringing in your bounties alive, very few have had the displeasure of coming in as non-breathers, but hey, they made that choice. You’ve been doing this gig for 10 years, ever since you turned 18 cycles. Dad was a bounty hunter and his dad before him. Dad never had a son, so he trained you in his craft. Ma wasn’t too happy about your interest in Dad’s work but it wasn’t like you had any real interest in sewing pieces of cloth together for people who looked down on you.  
  
You have other skills as well, you’re a self-proclaimed sharp shooter… if you were allowed to enter any competitions you would blow them out of the dust. Additionally, you are really good at making weapons. Blasters especially, long range and short range. You’ve been experimenting with a blaster that shoots metal and doesn’t need to be charged every night. You have your own little forge in the brig of your ship you spend hours toiling away in hyper space. It helps you make some credits on the side when bounty pickings are slim. Everyone has a broken blaster or something that needs to be fixed. Works well for you.  
  
You’re 28 cycles old, you’ve had a life, somewhat good, somewhat bad, but it hasn’t been a waste of a life. You’ve worked hard enough to save up for your own ship instead of paying passage fees on merchant ships. Your little Star Skipper is your pride and joy. You don’t have a Carbon Freezer like many of the other Mercenaries do, but you have a decent Brig that can hold 2-3 bounties, depending what species they are.  
  
The Twi’lek couple you’re transporting today has given you an ungodly headache. You were seriously debating taking the pay cut on killing one of them just to get the other one to shut up so you could get some peace. But pickings have been slow lately… Greef Karga has been stingy with his pucks and the ones he has been willing to give out have been low on the bounty totem. So you decide to suffer through the remaining hour until you arrive and deliver your catch.  
  
  
You’re hologram messenger lights up with a new incoming message. You press PLAY and wait. Karga shows up.  
  
  
“I hope you are well and are returning soon with your catch. I have a new mission for you with the utmost importance. The bounty is large, but comes with risks. Come see me if you are interested.” He pauses at this and leans into the recorder, almost as if his eyes were looking into yours through the hologram… “This isn’t for the faint of heart.” He says with a smirk he knows you hate. “But rest assured that this bounty will far outweigh the past 20 you’ve brought in.” You see him reach a hand forward and shut off the hologram, shutting off the transmission.  
  
“Well shit… ok.” You sigh, taking a drag off of the Tabac you have between your fingers. You blow the smoke into the hologram, watching the lights play off of the molecules.  
  
“You fucking little shit! It’s your fault we’re in this mess!” a feminine screech emanates from the brig below, effectively cutting off your musing of the possible sizable bounty that could be in your grasp.  
“If you hadn’t spent all my credits at the spice house we wouldn’t be here you cunt!” a male voice answered.  
  
You rolled your eyes, well shit. Your patience had already been worn thin, and now with this new bounty possibly being worth 20times what your past catches have made… it makes you wonder if this audible annoyance being worth the warm price. Further bickering and female screeching made up your mind. It’s less than an hour to the drop off… they won’t stink up your ship… fuck it.  
  
“Till death do us part…” you murmur, as you load your blaster and go down to the brig.

* * *

Greef Karga watches disapprovingly as you down the second glass of wine before you even get to negotiate the price of the bounty you brought it. You motion for the barkeep to bring you another before you even look at Karga, “Seriously Karga, that couple made me age 3 cycles on the ride in here. Probably another 2 before I silenced them for good.” You leaned back, playing with the glass, avoiding Karga’s disapproving glare, “What? I did this galaxy a service… much more peaceful, without their bitchin.” You shrugged.  
  
Karga sighed and leaned back in his booth, sipping from his own drink and looking at the almost near empty Cantina. You followed his gave and saw that there was a fair bit of damage on the walls and the tables surrounding you.  
“Um, ok I’ll bite. What the shit happened here?” You look around to get a better look at the damage around the shit hole cantina.  
  
Karga took another sip from his drink and shrugged, “A situation happened, in regards to that message I sent you. A guild member went rogue… with an expensive bounty.”  
Interesting… “Who was the guild member?”  
  
“A Mandalorian.”  
  
“Does the Mandolorian have a name?” You asked. Mandalorians were not super common, but any mention of them were memorable.  
  
Karga shrugged, “I just call him Mando.”  
  
You almost laugh, “Well that’s super helpful. Does he have a signet or anything else I can identify him by?”  
  
Karga shakes his head. You finish your drink and motion for another one, Karga was buying your time, he might as well pay for your drinks for this stupid debrief.  
  
You level down and stare at Karga across the table “How am I supposed to find this Mandalorian and the bounty he stole if you cannot give me any sort of way to identify him? I can bring in a Jawa in armor and pass him off as a Mandalorian better than you can identify one to me.”  
  
Karga laughs, “I didn’t know you were a comedian.” You roll your eyes and wait.  
  
“This Mandalorian is in full beskar armor which in itself is rare enough. That will catch you eye. And the bounty he has stolen is a little green creature. No idea what species it is, but you’ll know it when you see it. This fob here,” Karga places a fob on the table between you two, “Is the fob that’s been attached to the creature. You find the creature, you find the Mandalorian.” Karga held his hands up and smiled at you, making it seem like an easy task. You wonder what made the Mandalorian break the Guild Code and not turn in his bounty but you feel that if you have too many questions, you’ll end up more confused than you are now.  
  
“Which one do I bring in for the reward?” You asked, taking the tracking fob and slipping it into your vest.  
  
“Both. The guild wishes to punish the Mandalorian for his actions. And the creature is for some Imperial warlord. What he wants with it I don’t know, eat it or mount it on his wall, doesn’t make any never mind to me. And it shouldn’t to you either, that’s where Mando fucked it up.” Karga shook his head and sat back in his seat as he watches you as you mull it over. You found it interesting that an Imperial General is in this parsec. You know what happened years ago and rumors about a new government being built but….you stay out of politics, it makes your head hurt. It hasn’t affected your day to day life yet and until it does, you’ll choose then.  
  
You start to get antsy and decide to wrap it up. You’ve lost enough time shooting the shit with Karga.  
  
“So to sum it all up, I’m to look for a rogue Mandalorian Bounty hunter and his pet?” Karga nods and you agree on a price more than you’ve ever had at one time before. You hold down your excitement as to not seem too eager. But this catch would mean you can update your ship and get a new blaster model you’ve had your eyes on. You rise, dusting off your leather pants and adjust your blaster belt as you give Karga your best and that he’ll see you when you return.  
  
“One last thing… do be careful,” Karga says unexpectedly. You paused. Karga has never displayed any sort of care for anything other than money. But he looks at you now, grim faced.  
  
“I knew your father before he passed, he was a great bounty hunter, and I would hate to lose my best bounty hunter…” his frown turns into a smirk and winks. “Take care. Give Mando hell.”  
  
You leave the cantina and head for Star-Skipper, wondering if it was the wine that’s making you feel uneasy, or if it’s the massive bounty you’ve just under taken. You take out the tracking fob and look at it as you ascend the ramp into your ship. If you were going to go after a Mandalorian, what type of weapons would you need? You think to yourself. There weren’t many Mandalorians around and you could count on one hand the amount of times you’ve seen one, even at a distance. There were a few things that everyone knew about Mandalorians:  
  
Their code forbids them from taking off their helmet and letting someone see their face. To have someone see their face means that they could never put their armor back on. The same goes for if an enemy is able to remove their helmet. You couldn’t imagine living by something that would make you completely leave your way of life just for someone seeing your face.  
  
Two cleaner droids returned from the brig below deck, beeping at you for payment for cleaning what was left from the Twi’lek couple. Droids are so helpful. You wonder if you should purchase one after this bounty to help with keeping the ship clean, and just have a little company?  
  
You paid them and went to the cockpit and pulled up your hologram map of this parsec. Realistically you would have to shuttle yourself around space, jumping from area to area until you got a reading on the tracking Fob, wasting valuable fuel and time. You knew of a few places where those that wanted to disappear would hide under the radar… mainly smugglers.  
  
Tatooine  
  
Sorgan  
  
Dathomir  
  
And that shithole Jakku.  
  
You close your eyes and select a planet. You looked and smiled. It’s been a long time since you’ve had some quality Spotchka! Even if the bounty wasn’t on the planet, you could restock your stores of the tasty ale. 

  


* * *

Imagine your surprise when the fob starts beeping as soon as you made it into Sporgan airspace. No fucking way… You feel stupid lucky. Now you won’t have to lose valuable time checking the remaining planets on your list.  
  
Hit it in the first try.  
  
You bring your ship low and began to look for a decent place to land. As far as the eyes could see were trees, trees and more trees. You happened to spot a cleared area, almost like a little village and decided that would be the best spot to begin your search. You land and walk off the ship, breathing in the clean air and sighed. It had been too long since you’ve last been here on one of your last bounty hunts. The feel of a lush forest around you has a calming effect, making you feel that all is right with the world. You follow the path that leads to a small inn. You could already smell the heady aroma of cooked meat and the sour smell of spilt ale. Maker you wanted a fresh cup of spotchka…  
  
Inside the inn were a few patrons… humans, Zabraks, Mon Calamari, Bothans, and an odd assortment of other species you couldn’t place. But no Beskar covered Mandalorian. You sat at a table and motion for the barkeep to bring you a spotchka.  
  
The brown haired barkeep brings your drink and you motion for her not to leave just yet.  
  
“How’s business been around here?” You asked congenially, smiling and taking a sip of your drink. The barkeep returns your smile and gestures around her, “Pretty good, got a good amount of customers everyday coming in and out. I can’t complain. Can I interest you in some stew ma’am?”  
  
You nod and take a few credits from your pocket and placed it on the table, “I’m looking for a person that may have come through here not long ago. A Mandalorian. Has he come by recently?”  
The barkeep nods, “Oh yes he came through about 3 days ago. Nice gentlemen, a little on the quite side. Had the cutest little thing with him. Huge ears and the cutest dark eyes you ever did see. I wonder if it’s his kid, dunno if there’s any resemblance due to all the armor he wears.” The barkeep shrug.  
  
You could hardly contain your excitement, “That’s great to hear, he and I are from the same village. I was hoping to reconnect with him. Do you know where he might’ve gone after you saw him?” You school your expression into childlike innocent excitement, praying the chatty barkeep doesn’t chose this moment to realize she’s being too open with an absolute stranger.  
The barkeep thinks for a moment wiping her hands on her apron as she mused, “You know what… I think I overheard people saying they’ve seen him at the Krill Farms. They had some excitement there, something with the Klaatoonians. People have been buzzing about it,” She shrugs, “I hear little snippets and rumors about what has happened but I haven’t been able to get the full story from anyone since only the krill farmers were involved.” The barkeep looks at you eagerly, “If you do go to the krill farm, it’s about a day’s walk from here, and you find out what happened, please come back and give me the story with all the details!” She winks at you and you wink back, not believing your good fortune once again.  
  
“You have my word,” You raise your cup of spotchka up in a salute and place a few more credits on the table, “For your exceptional hospitality.”  
  
The barkeep hustles off and leaves you to enjoy your drink and a fresh bowl of stew.  
  
This trip was turning into a piece of cake!  
  


* * *

… And you royally fucked it up with one pull of the trigger.  
  
You lay face first on the red forest bed, spitting out leaves and grit, groaning as the woman planted her knee in the middle of your back, wrenching your arms behind you, binding your wrist with what feels like the roughest quality rope in the galaxy.  
  
“You want to kill a fucking child you bitch?!” The woman growls at you, letting go of your tied hands and grabbing you by the hair, pulling it up so you can look her in the eyes. “No!” you shout at her, partially from the pain and from your own anger rising in you.  
  
“I saw him aiming at the group of children, I couldn’t let him!”  
  
The woman stares at you, distrust written all over her face. “How am I to believe that you both weren’t tracking the same child?”  
  
You groaned, shifting underneath her knee hoping to dislodge it enough for you to be able to draw in more air. Fuck she’s strong!  
  
“We were… but not together… I didn’t know the bounty was a child! Gods can you please get off…me, let me explain!” Fuck you got yourself into a mess. Your good luck ran out as soon as soon as you saw the other bounty hunter aiming at a group of children… You didn’t think, you reacted. One pull of the trigger was all it took, and then WHAM! You were hit from behind, your blaster and the fob skittering away over the leaves.  
  
Fuck  
  
Fuck  
  
Fuck  
  
Fuck  
  
Fucking hell.  
  
You heard something coming towards where you both lay in the dirt, something heavy and fast. Out of your peripheral you see the Mandalorian burst into the clearing, blaster held at the low ready, and stop at the sight of you and the woman. Shit that beskar does really make him noticeable. If it was you, you would’ve rubbed some dirt on that just to take away some of the shine. He lights up like a damn beacon.  
“What’s this?” You hear him ask in a low tenor through his voice modulator. He holsters his blaster and looks at the woman on top of you.  
  
“Found her right before she killed him,” The woman motions to the dead bounty hunter still smoking ten feet away, “She had a tracking fob on her.”  
  
The Mandalorian down at you still struggling under the woman and covered in dirt and grime, “Can… I please… explain!” You sputter, hoping you didn’t sound as pathetic as you believe you did.  
  
The woman got off you and you sucked in a lungful of air, yes! Air! And then the woman’s arm shoots out, grabbing your vest and slams you into a tree, effectively knocking the air right back out of you. “shit…” you wheeze, chest burning as you try to regain your breathe.  
  
“Start talking.” You hear the Mandalorian say over your wheezing.  
  
“O..kay” you cough. You regain your breathe and look up at them from your undignified seat on the ground. Fuck you are screwed… so screwed. If the Mandalorian doesn’t kill you, you have no doubt that woman would have any misgivings on ending your life. You could lie… but you don’t have any plausible lies created for this… it all happened too fast  
“I was sent to bring in you, for a reward,” You begin, “I was told you ran off with an expensive bounty; a creature, and was given the tracking fob to find them. I was told the Mandalorian was here, and when I showed up here, I saw him.” You nod to the smoking carcass on the ground.  
  
“I didn’t know there were other bounty hunters assigned to this catch. I watched him, and saw the tracking fob in his hand, and that’s when I knew he was on the same target as me.” You take a deep breath, trying to calm your racing heart. You have no idea if they will believe you, and right now you figured the best path was the truth and pray that either they kill you quickly, or at best they leave you tied to a tree.  
  
“He didn’t know I was here, he was watching the village there and I saw him knuckling down to aim at something. I looked, and saw that he was aiming at a small group of children.” You close your eyes and shake your head, “No honorable Bounty Hunter kills a child for money, no matter how high the price. I didn’t think… I just aimed and shot him before he could pull the trigger.” You finish, lamely, but shrug, “It is what it is…”  
  
The Mandalorian and woman just stared at you.


	2. What now?

Chapter 2

What now?

Recap:

“He didn’t know I was here, he was watching the village there and I saw him knuckling down to aim at something. I looked, and saw that he was aiming at a small group of children.” You close your eyes and shake your head, “No honorable Bounty Hunter kills a child for money, no matter how high the price. I didn’t think… I just aimed and shot him before he could pull the trigger.” You finish, lamely, but shrug, “It is what it is…”

The Mandalorian and woman just stared at you.

* * *

The only sound in the forest was the sizzling smoking remains of the fucker that got you into this mess. You told them both the truth and now they are looking at you as if they are trying to figure out what needs to be done.

“Who sent you?” The Mandalorian asks finally.

“I’m from the Guild.” You respond.

“Karga.”

You nod. The woman reaches down and picks up the flashing tracker fob that fell from your hand earlier and smashes it with the butt of her blaster. She goes over to the dead body turning it over to find his fob and smashes it under her heel. She runs a hand through her short black hair and goes back to the Mandalorian, “Then they’ll keep coming… they know he’s here.” She says quietly, sadly.

The Mandalorian starts pacing, looking back over at the village in the distance. “We can’t stay.”

The woman nods her head at you, “What about her?”

You hold your breath, shit this was it. Is this your last day on this planet or are you disappearing from existence? You closed your eyes and wait for it. You will not cry, you’ve shed enough tears in this life, you will leave it dry eyed and with as much dignity as your bound wrists will allow.

Minutes pass and you don’t hear a word. You open your eyes, startled to find the Mandos helmet right in front of your face.

He crouched there, watching you making you feel like an insect underneath a magnifying glass. You stare back at him “I wouldn’t kill a… child.” You whisper, beseechingly. Bounty be damned. This is way too much then what you signed up for. You understood now why the bounty was so high and the warning from Karga.

If this was the end… it’s the end, you have loved ones you will meet in the afterlife.

“Present situation aside,” you pull your bound wrists to the side for him to see, “I’m not after you or whatever baby creature you have. This is too much for me. I bring in bounties, I fix weapons, I eat, I sleep and Maker willing, I wake the next day to do it all over again.” You look up at the woman who’s been staring you down the whole time “I don’t expect either of you to believe me. But what kind of honorable people would kill someone unarmed?”

The woman scoffs, her arms crossed, “Who says we’re honorable?”

You look back at the Mandalorian, who felt unnervingly close to you. It was as if you could almost feel energy vibrating off of him. You’re mentally exhausted and just shrug, leaning back on the most uncomfortable tree in the galaxy.

The Mandalorian grabs the front of your vest and hauls you onto your feet, “You’re coming with us until I can think of a better plan. Let’s go Cara.” He says to the woman.

“We can’t bring her to the village!” Cara exclaims, following behind as he Mandalorian forcibly marched you towards the village.

* * *

The Mandalorian had placed you on the back of a droid driven cart at the village. He hasn’t said anything about what was going to happen to you. When he brought you into the village he had the Cara woman stand by with you as he went to a group of the villagers. Scattered villagers stared at you from where you sat on the cart, hands still bound behind you. There were a few children that you could see, peering at you from behind their parents and in between the huts.

It was a peaceful looking village, the only thing changing the look of a remote paradise were the scorch marks in the soil and a few destroyed huts, burnt into cinders. Something happened here not too long ago, and that’s when you remember what the barkeep had told you yesterday. You look at the Cara woman and decided to try your chances.

“What happened here?”

Cara leveled a look at you, seeing the destruction you were looking at, “We had some trouble a ways back…” She said with a smirk, “we took care of it.”

Well that was more than you expected to get out of her.

An hour later, the Mandalorian appeared with supplies and loaded it next to you in the cart. Villagers started gathering around the cart all looking grim. Several of them glared at you openly. They were saying their goodbyes to the Mandalorian. Cara looked grim, “Are you sure you don’t need an escort?” She asked.

“We will be fine.” Mando replies, going in and giving her arm a shake, “Till next time friend.”

A little girl moving towards the cart catches your eye; she was carrying… something… in her little arms and places it in the cart across from you. It was… a little green creature with big ears. She pets its fuzzy head as she tried valiantly to stave off the tears you see she’s holding back.

“I’ll miss you…” She gives the thing a hug and goes back to, who you assume is, her mother.

Shortly thereafter the droid piloting the cart gets it moving. The village disappears behind you, and the creature turns its attention towards you and you finally get a good look at it.

Holy maker this thing is fucking adorable! Huge dark eyes stare at you curiously as it garbles baby talk, its large ears twitching. This was what the Mandalorian refused to bring to the Ex- Imperial Warlord?

“What is this thing?” You ask the Mandalorian walking beside the cart nearest to the child. He looks at you for a moment, and you think he’ll just ignore you, but he replies.

“That… is what the other bounty hunter was trying to kill before you stopped him.” He says, “That’s the target Karga wants you to retrieve along with myself.”

You could scarcely believe this adorable creature was worth as much as you were told. Even though killing the other guy got you in this mess, you’re glad you stopped it.

“I have a soft spot for younglings.” You whisper, staring at the little thing, “Does it have a name?”

“Do you have a ship?” The Mandalorian asks instead. You look up at him, “I do”

“What would you do if I release you when we get to it?”

Release?

“Not come after the child… or you.” You say honestly. “I wasn’t given information I would be bringing in a child for bounty. That’s not my thing. I go after actual criminals. Karga didn’t tell me the whole story. Since this whole trip has been the biggest headache I’ve ever encountered, I’ll restock my supply of spotchka, see if anyone hereabouts needs some blasters fixed and then go find adult bounties on any planets nearby.” You shift in your seat, the bindings are tight as hell, “Karga will be mad, but considering I’m not the only one he’s given tracking fobs to, he won’t cry about it too much.” You level a look at the Mandalorian, “There are bounty hunters out there that don’t have the morals I do when it comes to children, so you and that little froggy are going to be on the run for a long time. But I wish you the best in it.”

The Mandalorian is quiet for a long time. The little guy yawns and stares at you, almost as if it was looking into your soul. You smile at it and make a funny face. It giggles, a happy little sound, and tottles towards you. It climbs into your lap and pulls on the lapels of your vest, trying to reach up and grab one of your braids with its tiny three fingered hand.

“Hey!” You laughed, pulling your head to the side to avoid its grip. It sways, trying to grab it again and utters its own cute giggle, making your heart hurt. You have such a soft spot for babies, no matter what species.

Suddenly the little thing is snatched off your lap, the Mandalorian pulling him away from you. He held the struggling little beasty, watching you at least you think he was looking at you.

“I’m not going to hurt him.” You sighed, “I know you don’t trust me but know this: I wouldn’t hurt a child. Also, I still have my hands tied. I don’t have any weapons on me and you have had me at a disadvantage the whole day.” It’s embarrassing really; you are a fully-fledged Guild Bounty Hunter and you’re tied up in the back of some cart with your prior bounty holding reign over you.

“I don’t know what else to tell you. Can you please let me know if I will live to see another day and leave on my ship as we talked about before? Or will this be my last night under the stars?”

The Mandalorian watches you; so long you almost squirm under his gaze. After a few moments, he places the child back in the cart and walks over to your side of the cart. You freeze when you feel his hand on your shoulder, breath held as he leans over and says, “I see you make one wrong move, you’ll regret it.” His voice rumbles in your ear, causing you to shiver.

Your wrists are instantly freed, and you gasp at the pins and needles feeling that flood back into your numb fingers. You pull your hands around and massage the feeling back into them gratefully. “Thank you.”

The landscape passes by in mottled shadows cast by the fading afternoon light through the trees. You stared up through the canopy, listening to the droids mechanics whirring and the Mandalorian’s footsteps over the ground. You start thinking of other jobs you could take since this one went to shit. You groan, rubbing the bridge of your nose and sigh in frustration. Were there any bounties you knew of on any of the surrounding planets? Or should you just return to Karga and… beg? No, you don’t beg. Ask nicely? Ugh…would he be willing to give you new pucks regardless of this failed excursion? You fucking hope so… Play on his heartstrings since he knew your dad? Yeah that could possibly work.

You make a plan to go back to Karga. But since you were in Sorgan, you could see if anyone needed weapon repairs. Your portable forge can be fired up and you can enjoy the beautiful planet a little while longer while making a few credits with your little hobby.

* * *

You direct the droid to where your ship is as you get closer.

The past few hours have been… uneasy, to say in the least. The little kid would toddle over you and the Mando would take him by the back of his…was it a robe?...and would place him back on the other side of the cart away from you. After having to do this twenty times, he gave up trying to stop him from going to you.

You felt Mando watching you intently as you held the kid on your lap, playing childish peekaboo games and tickle games with him. He’s too cute, it makes your heart ache. The kid cooes and giggles constantly, looking at you with big dark eyes crinkled in a smile. Yeah, there was no way you would hurt a hair on its wrinkled little head.

“So long little fella,” you murmur into the top of his head as you recognize the clearing where you landed your ship. You eased him off your lap and looked over at your ship…

What was left of it?

“WHAT THE FUCK?!”

You stare in disbelief at the skeletal remains of your pride and joy. Your beautiful Star-skipper was on its side, the landing gears gone, panels missing, one of its wings crumbled. You jump out of the cart and ran over to the last thing remaining you cared about in this life. You couldn’t believe it… how could this have happened?! You didn’t need to lower the ramp to get into the ship, it was already laid open like a fucking whore in a cantina!

You ran up the ramp and look around: gears gone, wiring exposed, ceiling panels stripped away…

Oh no…

No.

NO!

You climb down into your cargo hold, praying it was still there.

IT WAS!

Your forge was still intact, albeit damaged. It looks as if whoever attempted to remove it couldn’t figure out the latches and left it. But your weapons you were working on were gone… the display rack lay completely barren. You felt the prickle of tears hit and a lump in your throat.

Now what?

Next thing you know you’re on your knees, hands over your face…. Fuck fuck fuck fuck FUUUUCCCCK!

“Dammit…” You’ve been robbed. Your ship is stranded.

How can you rebuild this? This planet was a logging and krill planet… People come here to disappear. You could book passage on a merchant ship, but everything you had worked for would be left for vulture pickings. You had been doing so well for yourself, and now this?

Utter despair settles over you and your mind goes to the dark place that you’ve been able to hold at bay until now.

Steps echo in the hollow ship, you twist around; the Mandalorian stood behind you, the child in his arms, surveying the damage around you both.

“Scavengers…” his voice echoes around you, “but not Jawas. Those don’t reside on this planet. They did the same thing to my ship a few weeks ago.” He turns to your forge, “You’re an armorer?”

“No.” You croak, you clear your throat and stand trying to pull yourself together, “As I said before, I make and repair weapons… it’s a hobby of mine. Whoever did this took all the ones I was in the process of doing.” You run your hand over the forge, collecting the soot and rubbing it between your fingers.

“What are you going to do?” He surprises you by asking.

You shrug, “I have no fucking idea.”

You walk around the cargo hold, trying to think logically and catalogue what is missing or needs repairs. Fucking scavengers… you’ve never had any issues the last time you were here. But you had never spent an extended period of time away from your ship before. They must have watched the ship for hours before they decided moved in. You should’ve paid those extra credits for the security when you purchased the Star-skipper; electrical shock that disables intruders for hours and sends alerts to … now you’re paying a bigger price for not getting it.

The Mandalorian sets the child down and it waddles over to you, holding its arms out to be picked up. You bend over and scoop him up to cradle him, rubbing one hand over the edges of one almost translucent ear. You look around the interior of the cargo hull and ask, “I know I should be the last person to ask this, but do you know of anyone here that can do repairs of this magnitude on promise of a future payment?”

He shook his head, continuing to watch you as you sway back and forth, comforting yourself as much as the kid in your arms. He was silent, and it was starting to unnerve you being stared at so openly. You hand the child back to him and as you pull away, the kid whines, reaching back towards you. You hesitate, and Mando hands him back to you. You hide your surprise and go back to rocking him.

The Mandalorian clears his throat, “He likes you.”

“The feeling is mutual.” You rub a finger under the child’s chin, smiling at his toothy grin.

“Come with us.”

You look up, “What?” Unsure if you heard him right.

The Mando shrugs, “The kid likes you… and he’s a handful, it’s not easy taking care of him by myself. Also, I could use your skills with weapons, and you being a bounty hunter can help me as well… It’s up to you. I’ll let you think about it.” He moves to leave the cargo hold.

You grabbed his arm, “Wait-“ he stops, turning to look at you. You drop your hand quickly and take a step back, suddenly unsure of what you’re about to agree to.

“I…I accept.” You stammer, cursing yourself for sounding so small. You’re bewildered that he has offered this to you, after everything that’s happened in the past 24 hours. You couldn’t believe it…

The Mandalorian nods, “Bring your things, as much of it that’s left.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive me if I make an error with posting. I'm not used to posting on here and I'm learning. My old stories from years ago were posted on fanfiction.net. 
> 
> Constructive Criticism welcomed.  
> I already have a whole timeline planned. And I have a lot of time off from work. I only work 2 weeks out of the month so lots of time to write.  
> Hope everyone is doing well!


	3. Roommates

Chapter 3  
Roommates  


  
“Come with us.”  
You look up, “What?” Unsure if you heard him right.

The Mando shrugs, “The kid likes you… and he’s a handful, it’s not easy taking care of him by myself. Also, I could use your skills with weapons, and you being a bounty hunter can help me as well… It’s up to you. I’ll let you think about it.” He moves to leave the cargo hold.

You grabbed his arm, “Wait-“ he stops, turning to look at you. You drop your hand quickly and take a step back, suddenly unsure of what you’re about to agree to.

“I…I accept.” You stammer, cursing yourself for sounding so small. You’re bewildered that he has offered this to you, after everything that’s happened in the past 24 hours. You couldn’t believe it…

The Mandalorian nods “Bring your things, as much of it that’s left.”

* * *

You both load your forge after you unsecured the complicated latches that held it down, thankful that whoever decided to raid your ship was too stupid to figure it out. It took both of you to haul the heavy equipment into the cart, causing the droid to beep furiously at you.

“Shut up” you hiss at it. You had few personal effects, a few clothes and toiletries that the scavengers didn’t bother taking. You went through the ship, trying to think of anything else that could possibly be of some worth or use to you. You hold back tears on your last run through, running your hand over the only home you’ve had for the past few years. The kid cooes behind you in the makeshift pack you constructed to carry him as you and the Mando grab your meager belongings. You reach a hand behind you, rubbing his little wrinkled head as you said your silent goodbye to your Star-skipper.

“That’s the last of it,” you tell your new partner, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

He motions to a side of the clearing, “My ship is just over that copse of trees.”

The sun had set and he lit the lanterns attached to the cart. The illumination was just enough to keep you from tripping over tree roots as you both walk to his ship, the ‘Razor Crest’… Your ship had a better name.

When it came into view you paused, well shit… it was easily three times the size of your ship! Holy Maker that was a damn big ship! A ship that big still being in commission was unheard of!

“Pre… Empire?” you ask weakly, taking in the enormity of the vessel with an appraising eye.

“Yep.” The Mandalorian lowers the ramp and starts unstrapping the forge from the cart. “Help me with this.” You both grunt as you lift the forge and shuffle walk it into the cargo hold of Mando’s ship. You look around the huge cargo hold after you found a good corner to set it up. There’s so much room! You immediately begin mapping up your future workshop and the possibilities this new ship and partnership holds for you.

The Mandalorian takes you on a small tour of the ship. You saw where the kid’s secured cubby was located, the refresher, the food pantry… and a Carbon freezer! Yeah you’re pretty impressed, “Wish I had one of these. Nice.”

The end of the tour ended with Mando introduced you your new living quarters.

The room was a decent size, shelf units were built into the walls and there was a window across from the entrance. The only thing in the room was an empty shipping container, which could serve as a side table you decided… but there was no place to sleep unless you made a makeshift bed on the floor.

“Do you have a spare cot available? … If not that’s ok.”

“Hmmm… I don’t think I do.” He sighs, “Sorry.”

You saw some netting to hoist shipping containers in the cargo hold… that could make a hammock until you can think of another idea. Mando takes the kid and leaves you to unpack.

A short while later, your room is set up, large swinging hammock included. You relax, the hammock rocking side to side as you look out the window at the night sky. This wasn’t too bad. You feel relaxed now that one problem, out of many, has been solved.

The ship rumbles around you, and after a few minutes you feel the pull as the ship takes off and leaves the planet. You get out of your hammock and find your way to Mando at the control panel. You sit in the seat in the back next to a hovering bed the child sat in. You watch the trees disappear and stars fill your view, leaving the planet Sorgan behind… and your Star-Skipper. You hope that whoever stripped your ship falls into a sand pit and Killer ants eat their face off.

“Do we have a plan?” You ask.

“Get as far away from Sorgan as possible. We don’t know how close other bounty hunters are that are coming for him.” You couldn’t help but feel a little guilty at that.

You look over at the child, who’s valiantly attempting to fight off sleep. You run your fingers over his little face lightly, tracing slow patterns over his nose, forehead, and ears, over and over again. His eyelids droop and his body relaxes into sleep quickly. Works like a charm… most of the time. Little guy was no doubt tuckered out from the ride from the village.

“I’m gonna whip up something quick to eat. You hungry?”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“Okay… Mando? Is it okay I call you Mando?”

He nods, his back still turned to you and you get up to leave.

“…Wait-”

You stop and look at him. For someone whose expressions you can’t see, you can almost tell that he’s … embarrassed? He looks ready to say something, but he just looks at you. You look at him expectantly, “Yeah?”

“… I don’t know your name.” he says finally. Oh. You both have gone through the whole day without names…  
So you tell him.

He repeats it and you nod, “Yup that’s me. Have you heard of me?” You ask hopefully… it’s possible your reputation has reached the ears of those as rare as the Mandalorians.  
You hide your disappointment when he shakes his head, “Should I?”

You turn back, “Never mind. It’s nice to meet you Mando.” You say over your shoulder as you go make yourself some dinner.

* * *

The next few weeks were an adjustment period for you both. You both had been operating as a solo party for so long that it takes you awhile to get used to having another person in your space.  
It’s like walking on egg shells for the first few days, being overly polite and apologetic when you get in each other’s way in the hallways... And then going to use the refresher and finding it occupied, cleaning linens and finding the washer being used, going for the salt crackers in the pantry and discovering that SOMEONE left the empty container instead of throwing it in the compactor… the list goes on and on. But you just set your jaw and bare it.

It’s his ship.

You are the addition to his ship, not the other way around. But stars blast it, it’s kriffin frustrating!

The child was another matter… cute, but equally as frustrating.

The first few nights on the ship you would awake to the movement of a small body climbing into your hammock. The first night you were so tired you didn’t give it much thought as to how this one foot tall child was able to ascend into your hammock from the floor. You were half asleep; the child sleepily snuggled against your neck, when you heard your door slide open early the next morning. You cracked open an eye, seeing Mando looking at you both from your doorway before you fell back asleep for another few hours with the kid snoozing with you.

You understood why he was wary of you. This situation is not ideal but could be mutually beneficial unless this distrust persists.

“Hey, I understand that this morning was weird: me being here, the kid not where he normally is…” You leveled with Mando after the first morning, “but seriously, next time you come into the room without knocking first, we are going to have a problem. Think about if I opened your door unannounced?” You explained as he piloted the ship, “I know trust is going to take a while to build, but respect for space will start now.”

Boundaries needed to be set. You aren’t a timid little girl; you’re a bounty hunter, and bounty hunters stand up for themselves.

It worked.

After the first night, Mando didn’t come in to check where the child was, and you took that as ‘message received.’

The child had no such reservation about entering your quarters. After the first few nights of him as your sleep partner, you needed a break from getting kicked and hit at random intervals throughout the night.

You secured the kid in his cubby one night after lulling him to sleep. You locked your door and crawled into your hammock, exhausted from rebuilding some essential tools for your forge that had been swiped on Sorgan. It was rough work and a hassle.

You were dead asleep when you were roused by a little big eared-body snuggling into the crook of your arm.

You had locked the door.

You had moved the side table away from the hammock…

How the Helion did he get into your hammock?!

You sat up, taking him with you, “Hey Bright Eyes” you croone, “I’m gonna sleep by myself tonight okay? But don’t worry, I’ll still play with you in the morning.” You get out of the hammock and carry him down hall to the cubby.

You lay him in the bed and sat outside the cubby, running your fingers over his eartips and humming a tune to lull him to sleep. After a few minutes, the little beast was refusing to fall asleep, somehow becoming immune to your tactics the past few nights.

How has Mando been able to sleep with this kid on his ship before you came on board? You hum lullabies and random tunes mindlessly as you try to get little froggy to close his eyes. Just go to sleep… go to sleep… to sleep…

You’re roused sometime later by Mando’s hand on your shoulder. The ship was dark… you had no idea what time it was…

“Shhh,” He holds a gloved finger to the front of his helmet, signaling ‘quiet.’ You look at the cubby… froggy was asleep... thank the Maker…

You scoot your body away from the cubby carefully and, at a safe distance, you stand uneasily. Mando takes your arm as you sway dangerously close to the wall and leads you down the hall to your room.  
“How have you been able to sleep with him around?” you murmur sleepily.

You swear you hear him chuckle under that helmet, “I haven’t. I’ve had the best sleep in weeks since you showed up.”

You yawn, “Lucky you.”

He squeezes your arm gently, “Sleep in, I’ll keep him preoccupied until you join us.” He releases your arm and stops at the threshold of your room as you crawl into your hammock.

You grunt in acknowledgement before sweet nothingness embraces you.

* * *

You were astounded to find the kid had no toys other than a gear knob from the control panel. Finally a task to spend your time until Mando lands on a planet you can get some work from. You forge some stacking blocks: easy work. You use fabric and discarded items to piece together a rag doll. And you briefly think about making a rattler and quickly abandon the idea, thinking of the noise the kid would make with that thing.

The child zeroed in on the stacking blocks immediately.

Yes… victory.

You ate a snack in the panty, watching the kid sit on the floor stacking the blocks and knock them over again and again. He seemed happy playing by himself and you take your snack and go to check ok Mando.

“Brace yourself!” you hear him shout. What?

The ship lurches beneath you, sending you to the floor. The ship rattles again, as you scramble onto your hands and knees, turning back to grab the kid. You snatch him up and before the ship turns again, “What’s happening!”

“We got someone coming after us” You grab onto the wall, using it to steady yourself as your enter the cockpit and secure yourself In the seat behind Mando. Red blasts pass by cockpit windows in rapid succession.

An unfamiliar voice comes over the comm center, “Hand over the child, Mando.”

The Razor Crest lurches as Mando swears. You’ve been hit.

“I might let you live.” The pursuer’s voice mocks him. The ship is hit again, alarms start going off, their high pitch tones setting your teeth on edge. Shit… is this it? The child whimpers and you hug him to your chest, shushing him and patting his back. Another bounty hunter was coming for him…

You see Mando doing everything he could; you wonder what was going through his mind right now. You curse as you feel another impact, Shit!

“Hold on.” Mando says. You brace yourself as the whole ship turns upside down and rights itself. You could feel the remains of your snack try to make its appearance again and you choke it back down. Gross. “Come on…” Mando groans.

“I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold.” The man’s voice transmits through the comm. You almost laugh, “Come on Mando, show this piece of shit who the real bounty hunter is.” You goad, the adrenaline hitting you like a high, “Get that mother fucker! Send it right up his ass!”

Mando looks at your exhilarated face and turns back, “As you wish.”

The air is knocked out of you as Mando throws on the reverse thrusters, almost causing you to drop the kid. The enemy bounty hunter’s ship skitters over the top of the Razor Crest, into Mando’s range of aim.

The radar target data processor announces the target is locked on!

“That’s my line.” Mando says as he annihilates the enemy ship. The cockpit lights up with the illumination of the blast.

“Hahaha Yes!” You celebrate, “You did it!” You unfasten the seatbelt, dancing a happy little dance with the kid who had no idea how near death you all just escaped.

You grabbed Mando’s shoulder, “That was awesome,” and put an arm around his shoulders in an awkward side hug, “I wish I could’ve caught that on hologram.” You felt him stiffen beneath your touch. You stop and pull away quickly, and cooed at the kid, “No bad guys are getting you today Bright eyes!”

Beeping echoed throughout the ship, something was wrong. “How bad have we been hit?” You asked, the reality of the situation dousing your adrenaline high.

Mando was already checking the sensors and reading the diagnostic reports, “Badly, we lost 90% function of the left engine… we are losing fuel-“

Everything shuts down and the lights go out… utter silence and darkness.

Kriff… You hear buttons being hit and a switches turned off and on, Mando cursing and then-something bumps into you, causing you to lose your balance, “Ah-“

Strong hands grab you by the arm and waist, keeping you from falling with the kid. “-sorry.” You hear Mando say quietly. You shake your head, “S-ok.” He help set you back on your feet… and the power turned back on, the dashboard lighting up and you could hear the left engine attempting to come back to life.

You look up at Mando and notice he hadn’t let go of you. He just looked at you. You became aware of how close his body was to yours… He’s so tall. Something fluttered in your chest and you pulled away from him, looking at the control panel, “How… um, we need to land to get this thing fixed.” You say breathlessly, unsure if it’s from the residual adrenaline or… something.

Mando goes back to the control panel, and was able to connect with a close by planet. He hails them and radio static cuts through the awkward silence.

“This is Mos Eisley Tower. We are tracking you. Head for bay three-five, over.”

“Copy that. Locked in for bay three-five.” Mando sets the coordinates and heads for the sand colored planet.

“Is that…” You come forward and peer at the planet through the window, “…that’s Tatooine.”

“It is.”

“Well we need supplies as well… but I hate the sand.” You grumble. It gets everywhere…

  



	4. Toro Calican

Chapter 4  
Toro Calican

“Is that…” You come forward and peer at the planet through the window, “…that’s Tatooine.”  
“It is.”  


“Well we need supplies as well… but I hate the sand.” You grumble. It gets everywhere…  


* * *

Once landed you add your remaining credits to Mando’s, but ended coming up short. The kids been asleep since you landed and you decide that putting him in the cubby for now would give you both a few hours of trying to come up with a plan.  


The mechanic at bay three-five, Peli Motto, was less than thrilled knowing you were short on credits, and even less so when you notified her that there was a sleeping child on board.  


“We should be back before he wakes up.” You tell her, “If he does wake up, he has some toys he can play with that should keep him occupied until we return.”  


You and Mando leave the ship to Peli Motto and go out to find work. You have enough tools to be able to do some minor weapon repair work, but getting a bounty was your main goal. You both need credits, and badly.  
Mando suggests the local cantina and you agree. Old Stormtrooper helmets spiked on pikes were stationed every other block, creating a macabre effect on an otherwise dull sandy town.  


The cantina was difficult to find, every hut looks the same unless you read the store title in equally dull coloring. This place was as uninteresting as it gets. The cantina looked old and very ‘hole in the wall.’  


Inside the cantina, you approach the droid manning the bar and request some wine. It’s been weeks, and Mando doesn’t strike you as a wine drinker. The first sip was disgusting, the second sip… less so. Mando addresses the droid, “Hey droid, I’m a hunter. I’m lookin’ for some work.”  


“Unfortunately, the Bounty Guild no longer operates from Tatooine.”  


“We aren’t looking for Guild work.” You add, sidling up next to Mando at the bar.  


“I am afraid that does not improve your situation, at least by my calculation.”  


“Think again Tin-can.” You and Mando turned to the guy sitting in a booth behind you. The guy was probably your age or a bit younger, dark, handsome, but reeking of cocky flair that made the last attribute null and void. Anyone that disrespects an establishment, no matter how lowly, by placing their disgusting footware on a food service table deserves a smack.  


The aforementioned gorgmonger looks you up and down appraisingly with a little smirk. Oh you delusional little shit…  


The impertinent little shit turns his attention to Mando, “If you’re looking for work, have a seat my friend. Name’s Toro, Toro Calican. Come join me.”  


You and Mando exchange a look you interpret as, ‘Let’s see where this leads.’  


Mando sits across from Toro and you stand behind him. Toro looks at you and pats the booth seat next to him, “No need to stand, there’s space.” He smiles at you. You level a cold look at him, “I’m fine where I’m at.” He shrugs and pulls out a bounty puck, placing it on the table and switching its display on.  


“Picked up this bounty puck before I left the Mid Rim. Fennec Shand, an Assassin.” Toro continues, “Heard she’s been on the run ever since the New Republic put all her employers in lockdown.”  


“I know the name.” Mando replies.  


“I followed this tracking fob here. Now the positional data suggests she’s headed out beyond the Dune Sea. Should be an easy job.” You snorted into your drink, “Well good luck with that,” you chuckle. This guy has no idea what he is getting into. He must be a fool or didn’t know Shands reputation as an assassin.  


Mando stand up from his seat, “Yeah, looks like you can handle her yourself.”  


“Wait, wait, wait! I thought you needed work?” Toro tries to stop you. He looks at you, “This is a job, and it pays.”  


“How long have you been with the Guild?” Mando asks.  


“Long enough,” Toro puffs up like a dune rooster.  


You laugh quietly, “Clearly not. Fennec Shand is an elite mercenary. Anyone from the Guild knows that, she make her name killing for all the top crime syndicates… including the Hutts.”  


Toro sneers at you; clearly you’ve ruffled his feathers, “I’m sorry, who are you?”  


Mando answers him, “She’s a Guild Bounty Hunter.”  


“Never seen one like her.” He remarks, giving you a lewd eye, attempting a slight.  


“Looks like you haven’t seen met any REAL bounty hunters if you think you can handle a bounty like Fennec Shand. If you go after her you won’t make it past sunrise” You smirk.  


You and Mando turn to leave, almost making it to the exit before Toro comes after you, “This is my first job.” His false sense of bravado melting away, “You can keep the money, all of it. I just need this job to get into the Guild… I can’t do it alone.” He pleads.  


Mando tilts his head to you. You both turn to converse privately.  


“I’m not going up against her. She’s killed far better bounty hunters than me,” You mutter, “I’ll find other work.” It hurts you to give up a potential bounty, but you didn’t have a good feeling about this one.  


Mando nods and turns back to Toro, telling him to meet him at the three five hanger with two speeder bikes in a half hour. Mando holds out his hand to Toro, “Give me the tracking fob.”  


Toro hesitates…  


And smashes the fob on the wall.  


Before Mando could wring his scrawny little neck Toro exclaims, “No worries! I’ve got it all memorized!”  


“Idiot.” You mutter.  


“Looks like you’re stuck with me now partner!” Toro calls after Mando as you both leave the Cantina.  


You try to get Mando to see reason on your way back to the hanger, “He’s a fool and a dangerous one at that!”  


“He’s young.”  


“I doubt you were ever that stupid at his age.”  


“That wasn’t so long ago.” Mando remarks, “It’s credits, and a decent amount. We need money for repairs and supplies.” Mando looks over at you, “You could join us.”  


You refused, “I don’t like that guy, something about him... I wouldn’t want him watching my back. I feel that as soon as you catch Shand, he would put a blast right through you… that’s if she doesn’t get to you first.”  


“You doubt my abilities?” Mando says, his helmet tilting to the side, bright light glinting off it you’re your eyes.  


He sounded… curious.  


“Not your abilities, but when it comes to women-,” You wink at him, “We can be ruthless when provoked… and when men underestimate us-” You spin on him, hand extended in a jab, stopping an inch from his visor, “-they die.”  


A rumble emanates through his modulator, and you realize he’s laughing. You fall in step with him, “I’m serious,” you chuckle, looking up at the bright sky, “Don’t come running to me when she whoops your butt and you crawl back begging me to avenge your honor.”  


The laughter fades and you walk in silence.  


“I’ll come back” Mando says, gentle amusement audible through his modulator.  


As much as you wanted to continue to joke, you felt the need for honestly.  


“I don’t trust him.” You reach out and take his arm, stopping him, “I know this beskar protects you from a lot, but watch yourself with Toro. The kid needs you.” ‘I need you’ you wanted to say. What would happen to you without him? You would be the kids guardian and it would be up to you to keep him safe from rival hunters. It’s easier when you have a partner to help...  


Mando places a hand on yours and squeezes softly, “I promise.”  


Back at the three five hanger, you meet with Peli and attempt to work out a deal with some repairs she had on hold. You come to an agreement to help upgrade her blaster rifles. Additionally, Peli will reach out to her clients for any tune-ups they need in return for reduced price on the Razor Crests repairs. It’s not much, but it was better than nothing.  


Toro arrived half an hour later with two land speeders as requested. You try to convince Mando against going with Toro one last time but he had his mind made up, “You think that kid is gonna pull the slip on me?” he says, giving the kid’s head a pat from where he was strapped to your back.  


“Watch your 6.” Was all you say.  


He nods, “I’ll be back tomorrow.”  


“What do you think Mando?” Toro calls, “Not too shabby?”  


He sees you in the doorway, and gives you a nod. “Last chance to join us. I’ll even let you ride with me.” He rubs the seat between his legs and winks.  


This guy never quits…  


You laugh, “That would be two things between your legs you wouldn’t know how to handle.” You turn on your heel and follow Peli back inside her hanger.  


* * *

You throw yourself into your work… and Peli made sure you got the most out of date rifles she could find in her collection. She did have a MK-modified long range rifle… “That’s my baby.” She caresses the barrel lovingly as you look on, jealous as can be.  


“Can I shoot it?” She thinks about it for a moment and nods, “yeah, there’s a nice little spot behind back I use as a practice range. Have at it.”  


You spend an hour shooting Peli’s rifle, loving every second of it. The recoil was near non-existent, able to re-sight on your target with minimal correction. The targets you aim at disappear one by one… nice. You need to get back into working on your creation… but you’ve been feeling uninspired lately. A 6 chambered pistol that fires metal, not needing any recharge time. You have the outline in your head, just need to bring it to creation.  


You drag yourself away from Peli’s range and head back to the Razor Crest to eat and feed the kid. He’s been content to hang out in the back pack you made for him, which makes it easy for you and Peli to hand him off back and forth while you both worked. The suns were setting, making for an amazing view, very theatrical…  


You and the kid eat, and Peli comes up to the ship to invite you to a game of cards with her and her droids. You accept, liking that it took your mind off Mando and Toro for a while. You like Peli, she’s a little firecracker, someone you could easily become friends with.  


But you are pretty sure she cheats at cards…  


“Come on!” You slap your cards down, “There’s no way you got me again!”  


The droids beeped and whirled, you take it as laughter.  


Peli grins at you, pulling the bolts and buts you all have been using as currency for the game. “I’m just a lucky woman!” chuckling to herself.  


“Speaking of lucky women…” She casts you a meaningful look and takes a long drag of her tabac.  


“Hm?”  


“Come on now” Peli nudges you, “you know what… I mean ‘Who’ I’m talking about.”  


She watches the look of incomprehension fade as you realize what she’s implying, “Ha no. We aren’t like that.” You stomach flipped at the implication.  


“Oh come on,” She waves her hand over you, “A strong pretty little badass like you on a ship with a tall... well I can’t say handsome… but his voice is nice, Mandalorian and you’re telling me nothing has happened?” she looked disappointed.  


“It’s a partnership. He needed help with the kid and my skill with weapons come in handy. I was out of a ship and would’ve been stranded if he didn’t offer me the job.”  


Peli nodded as she tapped the pit droids, sending them into sleep mode, “Well I’ll just end it with this; I’ve seen him watching you when he thinks no one is looking. More than a work partner would.” She holds up her hands, “I’m just sayin!”  


You laugh, “I think you’ve had enough to drink if you think a Mandalorian is interested in anything besides his next pay day.” You wink at her and bid her goodnight as you take the little froggy back into the Razor Crest.  


* * *

You couldn’t sleep.  


Why couldn’t you sleep?  


The kid was asleep in his cubby, the ship was locked and security set.  


Why did you feel so anxious?  


Peli’s words echoed in your head, ‘I’ve seen him watching you when he thinks no one is looking’… The tension you felt when the lights came back on the ship, touching you, watching you...  


You close your eyes and exhale, breathing in deeply, and blowing it out...  


You’ve been on the same ship with him for weeks… If he was interested in you, you’re sure he would’ve said or done something. He’s a man of few words, not much for idle talk. The most you’ve conversed with him has been about the child, and about weapons.  


You would like to have had a nice chat over drinks, but can’t really do that when your partner is a part of a creed that doesn’t remove their helmets in front of people. He couldn’t drink or eat with you… and those are the two times when people feel the chattiest.  


You mind drifts, imagining what he would look without his helmet… his voice was nice to listen to, even altered with the modulator. You imagine he would have dark hair… and dark eyes… You haven’t seen even a glimpse of his skin to know how dark or light it was. He would be handsome… people with a voice like his would be good looking, you decided.  


Your hand drifts over your breast to your abdomen… then below the hem of your pants. It’s been years since you’ve been with a man, but your body reacts instantly to the thought of the Mandalorian coming to you in the night. You imagine his gloved hands moving over your skin, caressing, gripping… bruising. You’re already wet thinking about it. His hand would cover your mouth to quiet your moans as his other hand takes the place of yours between your thighs. His ragged breathing in your ear, magnified by the modulator, whispering things he’d do to you, calling you his little whore as he rubbed his hard bulge against you…  


Where are you in this fantasy? Here in your hammock? A real bed? The cockpit? Mmmm yes… the cockpit. He had you leaned back against him as he sat in his captain chair, your legs spread over his thighs as his hand teased you, gathering your slick and rubbing his finger over you clit in slow circles. You gripped the wrist of his hand covering your mouth, holding on for dear life as he turned you into a writhing mess. Mando took your hand, placing it on him, grinding into your hand as he slipped two fingers i-inside y-your-  


You come fast and hard, covering your mouth to muffle your cries. Stars! You sigh shakily as you come down from your peak… wow. If imagining him made you react this strongly, imagine what actually being with him would be like? You push the thought out of your head guiltily. No. Stop it. Enough hoe thoughts for one night.  


You look out the window at the night sky, wondering what he was doing at this moment… ha, you wonder if he’s killed Toro yet.  


Or the other way around… anxiety seizes you. Your post climactic euphoria gone… Please be safe… please be ok.  


You take a quick… cold… shower and go over to the kid’s cubby.  


He was fast asleep.  


But you were feeling selfish… you needed him tonight. You carefully lift him up and take him to your room. He rouses, uttering a little cry before you calm him. You cradle him in your arms in the hammock, humming a mindless tune, rocking from side to side, comforting him as much as you.  


“Mando will be ok.” You murmur into his wrinkled head and kiss it.  


Before long, you both fall to sleep.

* * *

The next day was miserable. Hot and miserable. The child must be picking up on your mood because he’s been a terror all day. He didn’t want to play, he didn’t want to eat… he just wants to fuss. Your arms were tired from carrying him everywhere since he wouldn’t allow you to carry him in the pack. He wanted arms around him.  


Even Peli knew something was up, “What’s going on with him?” She shushes him as she attempts to pacify him with a meat bone. He cries around it, batting his hands to get it away.  


“He’s been like this since this morning.” You groan, “I don’t know what’s wrong…”  


Peli puts the little beast on the ground next to his blocks and steps away, “Think he misses Mando?”  


You shrug, “I think that might be it…” You both watch as he hits the blocks in all directions and flump down and begin crying louder. It must’ve been your imagination, but you could’ve sworn you saw sand shifting away from where he sat as he began crying anew. You shake your head and attribute it to being tired.  


Peli shakes her head, “I hope he gets back soon.”  


“Same.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> Happy Friday everyone!  
> I try to have two chapters completed every time I post a new one. If I get a lot of writing done, chapters come out more often. I love comments, they make my day!  
> Stay safe!  
> 


	5. Where is he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> New tags were added  
> Posted a new chapter early in honor of May 4th tomorrow!  
> MAY THE FORTH BE WITH YOU!  
> 

Chapter 5

Where is he?

After two hours of tears, the little beast finally tired himself out enough to sleep. You place him in his cubby and secure his door.

You and Peli went back to work, her on the Razor Crest’s engine, you on blasters. For a few hours you’re able to turn your brain off and follow muscle memory as you work. At every odd noise or feeling you look up to the entrance of the hanger, expecting to see Mando walking though at any moment. You hated this feeling… you start to regret not going with him. The feeling of not knowing what was happening is maddening.

You finish your work sooner than you would’ve liked. Without anything else assigned for you to do, you take it upon yourself to clean the interior of the ship.

You hate domestic work.

You hate boredom even more.

Pantry sanitized and reorganized.

Linens cleaned and folded.

Cockpit window and control panel cleaned.

Carbon freezer dusted.

You cleaned your room.

Where was Mando’s room?

This was the first time you’ve been alone on the ship and now would be the perfect time to discover if Mando actually did sleep in his captain’s chair every night. Being mindful of the sleeping child, you take the time to go through the ship.

It almost felt wrong looking for Mando’s room… especially after last nights… um…fantasy.

You push that out of your head and go to the end of the hall. You’ve never had a need to go to the door at the end, you didn’t know what it led to. Was this Mando’s room?

There was a keypad next to the door, a code needed. Every keypad in this ship opened no matter what buttons you pushed. The weapons, the cubby, whatever. So you pressed random buttons and waited.

Nothing.

Oh, so he actually has a code for this door and not his weapons rack? You think sarcastically.

You try again, a simple 1234 code. Nothing. You gave up and went back to work.

The suns were setting by the time you completed cleaning the ship. You were exhausted but felt better for having cleaned the whole ship. As much as you hate cleaning, you love the feeling of walking into a clean organized room.

Mando wasn’t back yet… He said he would be back by now…

The kid wakes up in time for dinner. You both sit down to eat with Peli before heading back to the ship. The kid was still wide awake so you put him in your room with his blocks and doll you made. You turn off the daylights in the ship and go take a long hot shower.

You step out of the refresher with a towel wrapped around you and make your way back to your room, intent on wrapping the little monster up in a blanket and putting him to bed-

The cold barrel of a blaster presses into the back of your neck.

You freeze.

“Don’t move.” A male. Toro Calican.

Your heart jumps, “W-Where’s Mando?” You feel the blaster press harder into you.

“Don’t worry about him. Where’s the kid?” You don’t say anything. Shit he knows… Your mind races, quick, what is around you that you can use as a weapon? You curse yourself for not having your blaster nearby… it was in the weapons locker next to the kid’s cubby. Where the fuck was Mando? Your heart pounds in your chest… Did Toro kill him? You stifle your panic, trying to think of a way to get yourself out of this.

Toro’s hand grabs your arm, pulling you against him as he moves the blaster to the side of your head. He was breathing hard. Only a towel separated you from him, and he realizes this. He tsks, “Well well, for once I got you speechless you fucking smartass… maybe I can get you to…“ he forces your towel to the floor, “…talk?”

You stood bare, still dripping from the shower, as Toro Calican reaches around and squeezes your breast, pinching your nipple between his fingers. You flinch, he laughs as he tweaks it again, “Come on now… don’t tell me this isn’t doing it for you?” He thrusts his groin into your ass, grinding the hard bulge between your cheeks, “If you tell me where the kid is, maybe I’ll make this enjoyable for you…” The hand on your breast moves down to the cleft between your legs and roughly gropes the sensitive flesh there, causing you to yelp, flinching away from the rough intrusions.

“If not…” He moves his hands from between your legs and grabs your throat tightly, his thumb and fingers pressing against the arteries in your neck, making you light headed. He pulls you into him, breathing heavily, his face in your neck, the scratchy stubble rubbing painfully as he groans into your ear, “I will have the kid… and you.” He bites down on your ear, almost hard enough to break the skin.

You couldn’t hold back the whimper that escaped you.

The sound of blocks tumbling echoed down the hall, followed by the child giggling from your room. Toro froze; you break away, dashing down the hall to press the keypad to secure and lock your door.

“NO!” You scream as Toro barrels into you, knocking you both into your room. The kid sat at the opposite end of the room, startled seeing you wrestle with Toro on the floor, doing everything in your power to keep him away from the kid.

Toro held you down on your stomach, trying to scramble over you to the kid, you pistoled your head back, missing his nose but hitting his chin. “Bitch!” Toro snapped, ramming the butt of his blaster in the back of your head. Your ears ring but you twist around, still slippery from your shower; you punch Toro in the face and flail your legs, attempting to score a kick anywhere you could. He uses his weight to hold you down as he pinned your shoulder and pistol-whips you again with his blaster to the side of the face, “Stupid bitch! Quit!”

You scream and slam the palm of your hand into Toro’s nose, a spurt of blood erupting as his nose breaks, dripping blood into your mouth and eyes. He drops his blaster “Fucking cunt! I’ll kill you!” He hits you again, splitting your eyebrow, causing blood to seep into your eye. You cough and spit in his face, “Fuck you!” you yell.

Toro grabs your neck with both hands, squeezing and slamming you into the floor, “After I’m done with you you’ll be begging to die!” He leans forward, applying more pressure as he held you pinned by your throat. Your eyes feel like they’re about to pop out of your head, Stop stop stop!

You couldn’t move him off you! Your heartbeat hammered in your ears, a deafening drum beating, drowning your senses. You swing at Toro’s face, scratching and hitting until your limbs get heavy… Your vision goes hazy… You see him free a hand and grab the blaster, raising it to something behind you.

No! You want to scream! Not the kid!

Your vision goes dark… and you hear someone choking.

It wasn’t you.

Through a muffled haze, you hear Toro dropped his blaster and his hand leaves your throat, you gasp for air, coughing and gagging.

Toro was scratching at his neck, as if attempting to pull invisible hands away, his eyes bulging and mouth gaping as he stared at you. You didn’t understand… why was he choking?

You look at the child… The look of pure rage on the kid’s face as he held his little hand forward in a fist startled you… he was doing this? You look back at Toro and see he was straining to reach his fallen blaster.

You snatched it, thrust the barrel in his gaping mouth and pulled the trigger.

He goes limp on top of you, blood and brain matter splattered over you and the room as the ringing from the blast echoes in your ears. You gasp for air, adrenaline overwhelming now that the fight for your life was over...

You did what you had to do to save the kid. You look over at the child…Stars...is he alive?! He lay on the floor, not moving, his robe speckled with Toro’s blood... The entire room was covered in blood and… gray stuff.

You didn’t hear the boots running up the ramp until you saw Mando standing over you, panting through his modulator. He’s alive?! You stare at each other, both of you trying to process what you’re looking at… You can only imagine what was going through his head. Blood everywhere, a dead Toro Calican draped over of a naked blood covered bounty hunter, and a passed out kid in the corner.

“The kid-“ You croak as you push Toro’s body off of you. Mando hesitates, going to help you stand but you wave him away, “get the kid.” Your face hurts, your throat hurts, everything hurts... You wipe the blood out of your eye, it did no good, your hands were completely covered in it. You succeeded in only smearing more of it all over your face. You begin to feel the damage that Toro’s blaster has done to your face… How much of this blood was yours?

You stand unsteadily, using the wall for support, and kick the body away from you. You give it another angry kick, “Burn in hell fucker.” You hiss at the body of Toro Calican. You lose your balance, grabbing the doorframe. Shit… you head swims and your vision blurs out and you hear Mando say your name, “You should sit down-“

“I’m fine!” You snapped. You just needed a minute. You look down at yourself, cursing; Mando was getting a good look at your bloody bare ass right now. Tears burn your eyes before you blink them away… now was not the time. You can’t be in your emotions now, damage control needs to be done.

You stand up and go into the hall, and find your discarded towel. You rub some of the blood off your face and wrap the towel around yourself.

You go back to the room seeing the child in Mando’s arms, “Is he ok?!” You look at the kids face, blood smeared but... was the little beast sleeping? After all that?! You have so many questions… 

“Yeah, he’s fine, just tired. What happened?” Mando asked, looking at you now that you’re covered, if not all together decent.

“I could ask you the same thing. But first, I gotta get this blood off. Give him to me, I’ll clean him up.” He hesitates, but hands the child to you, “Take his little robe off, it needs to be washed.” You directed, feeling more in control as you think in steps. One step at a time; Clean the child, clean yourself, get dressed, and then you’ll see where you’re at. Mando helps you undress the sleeping kid and you take him into the refresher.

The kid slept through his shower, barely rousing when you scrub his ears and face clean. You gently wash the ugly blood off him, checking him for injuries and finding none. You hug him to you, kissing his wrinkled head, “Thank you,” you whispered to the little angel. You don’t know what you saw, but you inside you knew that he saved your life tonight. You patted him dry and wrap him in a small towel.

“Mando?” You call out of the refresher.

“Yeah?” You hear him come over. You crack open the door and hold out the still sleeping, but now clean child. “Can you take him and put him to bed please?”

You feel Mando take him out of your hands and you close the door. You get in the shower, turning the water on hot and stand there.

It burns... the cuts on your face, your head, all of them sing with pain. You needed to remove all traces of him from you. You soap up, scrubbing your skin raw as you start to pant from the heat. Gods you couldn’t breathe! You slid down to the floor of the shower, taking deep ragged breaths, rubbing your throat, coughing and gasping… You need to calm down!

You recognize you’re having a panic attack.

It’s been years since you last one, stars you hated it. You hold your breath, turning the water to lukewarm and you sat cross legged on the floor of the shower. You counted to ten and breathed out, feeling the spray wash over you as you imagine it washing the filth down the drain. You count to ten and breathed in slowly.

You are alive.

The kid is alive.

Toro is dead.

Mando is alive.

You run your fingers through your hair, facing the spray as you repeat the mantra to ground you in the present.

You are alive. The kid is alive. Toro is dead. Mando is alive. Everything is ok. Everything is ok. You are ok. You are ok You are Ok YOU are OK YOU ARE OK…. Your breathing comes easier, the tightening in your chest loosening bit by bit. After fifteen minutes you get out of the shower and face the mirror, you take a look at your face… and wince.

Your neck was red, starting to turn purple, burst capillaries dotting the pressure marks where Toro’s hands had dug in. Your eyebrow was puffy and split still leaking a thin stream of blood. You felt a knot on the back of your head and bruises were beginning to form where Toro hit you with his blaster on the side of your face.

You lean over the sink and take several long, deep breaths holding back the rising feeling of panic again. You are ok. The kid is ok. You are ok. The kid is ok. Mando is here. The kid is ok. You are ok. Mando is here.

Tears threaten to fall as the memories of his hands on you slams into the front of your mind… his hands between your legs… way he touched you… his breath in your ear…

You punch the wall, hard.

Having your life threatened is nothing new to you. Bounty Hunting is a dangerous profession. No one who has a warrant ever wants to come in willingly; they’ll fight for their freedom. You’ve had your fair share of cuts, bruises, even blaster wounds…

Sexual assault… rape… was a different thing entirely…

Fucker is dead. You killed him. He’s dead dead dead dead. Dead and gone.

You wash your face again and brush your hair back away from your face. Pull yourself together. You got this. You’re a strong ass woman who just killed someone who tried to kill you. You are strong, you are smart, you are alive.

You look out into the hall, seeing it was clear you slip out to your room… and groan.

Dammit… you had just cleaned!

Mando removed the body, but blood…and brain matter still decorated the walls and floor. You’re going to need to wash everything. You find clothes that haven’t been speckled with blood and get dressed. 

You find Mando talking with Peli, Toro’s wrapped body lay on a trash pile, Peli sees you and rushes over, “Are you alright? Jeez that looks bad!” She reaches up to touch your face, you take her hand in yours. “I’m fine,” You nudge the body with a boot, “You should see the other guy,” You joke halfheartedly. 

Peli grabs a can and drenches the body with fuel, “I’ll take care of this trash. You two get some rest. We will talk in the morning.” She lights a flame and sets the trash heap on fire; cremating the remains.

You look at Mando and nod. Inside you get his story of what happened. “When I saw the speeder was gone and Fennec Shand dead, I assumed he decided to give up on being a bounty hunter. I rode the Dewback here and when I got to the hanger I heard the blaster go off… I found him…and you.” He watched you, “Are you alright?... Did, something… happen?” You know what he’s implying.

Peli had given you a bottle of decent liqueur for your help tuning her long range blaster. You cracked open the bottle and poured yourself a liberal dose of the medicine. You felt you deserved it. You offered some to Mando, and were surprised when he nodded. You slid a glass over to him, and watched as he stepped in the hall out of your sight, and returned, the contents of his glass diminished. Well that works…

You took a sip of your drink, relishing the burn of it down your sore throat, “He tried, the kid stopped him, I think. It was like; the kid was choking him from across the room.” You shake your head, “I could be wrong. Toro was… strangling me, I could’ve been seeing things.”

“I don’t think you were. The kid did something similar with a Mudhorn when I first found him. Lifted the thing in the air as it was charging me. I thought I was seeing things. The Mudhorn had knocked me around pretty good.”

You’re glad you aren’t crazy, “What is he? And why does everyone want him?”

“I don’t know what he is… my only guess is what he is so rare that people want him for his abilities.” Mando gestures to your face, “Those look pretty bad, I have a medpack.”

You touch your throat, “Looks worse than it is.” Though you’re positive your voice is going to be hoarse in the morning. Mando leaves with his glass and returns with a medpack, his glass empty. “May I?” he asks quietly, opening the medpack and setting out the contents.

Is he asking to dress your wounds? “Um… ok.”

“You want a refill?” You refill yours and he slides his glass to you, you add a generous amount to both of your glasses. You take a healthy swallow of yours, sending up a silent prayer for Peli Motto’s good health. Bless that woman.

Mando has you sit on the table and takes a looks at your neck, he makes a sound you can’t place… something between a sigh and a growl through his modulator. He reaches up and holds your chin in his hand, slowly tilting your head from side to side to look at the extent of your bruising. He takes off his gloves, and you look and see his skin for the first time. His hands are very tan…maybe olive-skinned, flecked with scars, his nails trimmed short. It felt as though you were seeing something private; this uncovered skin… he’s definitely human.

Mando applies a thin layer of ointment to his fingertips and rubs them over your neck carefully. You close your eyes, feeling his fingers spread the ointment, gently massaging it into the bruise. It feels nice; you focus on them, memorizing how they feel so you replace the memory of Toro’s hands on you.

He does the same with the side of your face. “I think that one might scar.” He touches your eyebrow gently.

“I’m not worried about it.” You mutter, eyes closing as he warns, “This might sting.” You wince at the sting of antiseptic is applied and a butterfly bandage to help close the cut.

“I’m sorry.” Mando says gently after applying the last of the ointment. His hands leaves your face, you want them back, to keep touching you, please. His touch made your skin super sensitive, like he was caressing it as he applied the ointment. Stars, you hadn’t thought of him like this until Peli said something. Now, with his hands on you, all you could think about is him using his body to make you forget the events of the day.

“Huh? What?” You snap back into reality, embarrassed, “Sorry? For what?”

“Not being here. You were right about him, and it almost got you both killed…”

You sigh, “No one knew what was going to happen. It is what is it is.”

“He touched you.” Mando’s voice rumbles through his modulator. “That son of a bitch-“

“And I killed him.” You stared into his visor wishing you could look him in the eye, “I blasted that fuckers brains all over the wall for what he did. I killed him before he was able to rape me or kill me or the kid. He’s dead. Burning like trash in Peli’s fire.” You don’t have to worry about him, you can wake up tomorrow and never have to hear his name or see his face again.

Mando stares at you, so long that you look away. You finish your drink, feeling pleasantly lightheaded, “Seriously, I’m ok. I’m glad you’re back.” You smile softly at him and slide off the table. He reaches out, touching your arm with his bare hand, fingers curling over your bicep, stopping you from leaving.

“Sleep in my room…until we clean yours.” He says carefully, “I’ll sleep in the control room. You need to rest.” You heart leapt at the invitation to sleep in his bed, but knew it was him just being nice. Was this his way of apologizing? He didn’t have anything to apologize for, you both had no idea it would end this way with Toro.

The thought of an actual bed and not a hammock sounds heavenly, stars… being able to roll around in sheets sounds so good, not to mention, its Mando’s bed.

You nod, “Thank you.”

He lets go of your arm, and you follow him down the hall to the door you had attempted to open earlier that morning. He types in 12345 and you hold back a laugh, you had almost figured it out. The door slides open and Mando gestures for you to go ahead. You finally get a look at Mando’s room.

It was very bare, a bed and a side table with a lamp. A few personal touches adorn the room: a painting of an abstract mash of colors, a polishing kit, no doubt for his beskar, and a menagerie of weapons mounted to the wall.

“Looks like a nice little bachelor’s pad.” You look at the bed and almost groan in want. He did not skim on good quality blankets…and a pillow!

You turn to him in the hallway, and taking a chance, you go to him, wrapping your arms around his middle, hugging him, “Thank you.”

He stiffens and you move to let go, then he surprises you by returning your hug, his arms incasing you in a beskar covered shield. He smelled so good; of sweat, leather, metal and a faint hint of spiced soap he must use. You hold him, not wanting to let go of this strong stoic man, but eventually you do. His arms fell away from your sides and you smile at him, “Goodnight Mando.”

He nods, “Goodnight.” And the door slides shut between you. You stand there, the ghostly remains of his hug on your skin as you hear him walk away from the door.

You go over to Mando’s bed, running a hand over the blankets, groaning at the feel of the high quality threads. Mando wearing armor and a helmet all day every day, of course he would want the best sheets when he does take his armor off. Soft and silky. You imagine him undressing and slipping beneath the sheets in the nude. You look at the closed door… and undressed, turning off the light and climbing between the sheets. You groaned, rubbing your hands and legs through the soft material. You need to get yourself some of these. You rest your head on his pillow, and breathed in his scent, smelling him on the sheets and blanket. From the pantry, you hear the clink of Mando pouring himself another drink. You smile; glad he was indulging himself for once.

You turned in the bed, facing the wall as you let the liquor do its job and ease you into sleep. You were fast asleep before you knew it; the comfort of Mando’s bed, the events of the day, and Peli’s liquor doing its job to send you into oblivion.

* * *

You were dead asleep when hours later, the bedroom door slid open, and the Mandalorian stepped into the room but moved no further. He watched the sheets covering you rise and fall with your breath. He sighed in relief… he needed to see you sleep; to know you were alive, to know that you were ok… He took another sip of his drink, he had come so close to losing everything in one day.

You saved the kid and the kid saved you… any concerns Mando had about your loyalties were answered in one night.

Mando drained his glass and took one last look at you before adorning his helmet and leaving the room.


	6. History

Chapter 6

History

You leave Mando’s room the next morning, sore but rested. It had been weeks since you slept on a normal bed. A hammock was comfortable; but after a while you crave a bed that doesn’t flip you onto the floor if you make a wrong move. If you could take the pillow with you to your hammock you would be satisfied. You made the bed before you left, sad to leave it. In the hall you almost knock into one of Peli’s Pit droids as it darts out of your room with stained rags in its clamps.

Confused, you peer into your room and see two more pit droids, cleaning the mess from the previous night. Ummm… Mando hates droids, he had instructed Peli no droids were to touch his ship. You looked again at the room, and decided they were almost done anyways. You were glad you didn’t have to clean it yourself. You take a quick look at yourself in the refresher, and smile, seeing the ointment had worked on healing the bruises. They were a sickly yellow, but no longer purple. You opened your mouth and uttered a few syllables... A little hoarse, but not bad. The ointment Mando rubbed on your throat had helped. 

You find Mando and the kid outside with Peli, going over the ships repairs. Peli had completed the repairs yesterday, and had been waiting on payment. You groaned; there wouldn’t be a payout from the Fennec Shand job. You had helped knock down the price with the jobs Peli got you, but it still wasn’t enough.

“Hey you.” You reached up and take the kid from Mando, cradling him to you. He was awake and alert, smiling and coos at you happily. He was ok.

Peli looks you up and down, nodding in what you take as approval, “How ya feelin champ?”

You wince at the tenderness of your vocal cords but your able to speak,“Feels like I went a round with a Rancor, but at least I don’t look it. “ You smile and bounce lil froggy up on your hip as he giggles. Mando looks back at the Razor Crest, “The droids should be done cleaning up by now.”

Oh!

“You let them on the ship? Wow Mando, I’m impressed.” You watch another droid run up the ramp to the ship, “You now realizing the perks of having droids around?” Especially for dirty work. Mando sighed, “They were needed for that job. That’s it.”

You frown, damn, you thought you would finally be able to convince him to have a cleaner droid on board. Peli pitched in, “I can sell you one of my pit droids to help with repairs… for a good price?”

“We already owe you too much, thanks though.”

“Mando paid for the repairs.”

You look up, “Really? How, I thought-“

Mando pulled out a bag and opened it for you to see, “Remember that dead bounty hunter on the dewback? He had a lot on him.” Inside the bag were enough credits to refuel and restock the pantry.

He hands you a handful of credits, “See if you can get yourself a decent bed with this, time to throw out that hammock.”

You look at the shiny credits in your palm, the kid pics one up and starts gumming it. Mando plucks it out of his mouth and puts it back in your hand. You can finally get a bed, and take down that ratty hammock. Oh stars you were excited. No more rope burns or flipping out onto the floor in the middle of the night.

You hand the kid to Mando and pocket the credits, “Thanks Mando, now if you don’t mind, I’m going shopping.” New bed, some clothes, and maybe a new addition to your rig? Who knows! So many possibilities with that glorious weight in your pocket.

“We leave at noon.” Mando warns.

Peli catches up to you, “I’ll come. Show ya the better places to shop and keep them from swindlin’ ya.”

“Perfect.”

* * *

There has been noticeable tension in the ship… and you don’t know why. Ever since you left Tatooine two weeks ago, you and Mando have been walking on egg shells around each other again. In the hours you departed Tatooine, damn you’re gonna miss Peli, you felt an unspoken question in the air. Anytime you and Mando passed the child off, there was a hesitation, and you would each go to your own space. You didn’t fully know how to process it. You were so confused. You went from a somewhat amicable friendship between you two to absolute strangers.

“I’m about to make dinner, any requests?” You reached out one evening. There were perishables from Tatooine you needed to use before they went bad. You couldn’t make up your mind and went to ask him.

“No, pick something.” He didn’t bother turning from the control panel to face you. Was he avoiding you? You stood in the doorway, dejected.

You made dinner, and dropped a plate next to Mando at the control panel and walked off without saying a word.

You took the kid to your room and played with him there as you ate. “Does that taste good?” you asked softly, feeding him another piece of the stewed beast. The child eats a lot but doesn’t seem to grow much. Mando said he was 50 years old, but still a baby in his species, whatever that might be.

“Can you say ‘food’?” You mouth the words slowly to him. “Food. Fooooood?” He looks at you with big dark eyes curiously, and opens his mouth, signaling for more. You oblige him, giving him another mouthful.

“What about Mando? Man-do. Maaaaannnnndooooo” You sound it out slowly. The kid giggles and reaches for you. Hmm guess his species doesn’t speak either. You’ve tried to get him to move the blocks without touching them, or the doll, without any luck. You wanted to see what the kid can do. You pulled the kid onto your bed, tickling him until he squeals with laughter. You play with him until he gets tired, and falls asleep on your bed. You leave him and take the dishes to the pantry.

Mando was there, empty plate in hand, he looks up when he hears you enter.

“Hey,” you place yours in the sink, “Wasn’t too bad huh?” You gesture for his and he hands his plate to you.

“Yeah it was good.” He clears his throat, “Hey listen…”

Was he finally going to explain this weird tension? “Yeah.”

Mando leaned back against the counter, actually looking at you for once, “I have a potential job for us, and it pays well.”

Of all things, that was the last thing you expected to talk about, “Okay… what are the details?”

“I don’t know much now, but it’s with someone I used to work with years ago; named Ran. I reached out to him for any jobs he has. He doesn’t work for the Guild… he deals more in mercenary black market jobs.”

You interest is piqued, “Ok… is it a two person job or is the job only for you?”

“I told him I have another bounty hunter with me. He said, and I quote, ‘The more the merrier.’”

Okay this sounds good; a double payday for you both. You needed to dust off the rig and get back in the game.

“When do we arrive?”

“We will be there in a few hours, best get some rest now; we don’t know how long the job will take.”

He pushes himself off the counter to leave, “Hold up-“ He stops and turns to you.

“Why have you been avoiding me?” You ask, straight to the point.

You could’ve heard a moth fart in the silence that followed.

“I-I’m not avoiding you-“

“Yes, you are.”

After a tense standoff, Mando relents, “I wanted to give you your space…” he says gently.

Was this what he calls space? Avoiding you, walking away when you just want to feel another presence in the room? You get angry… seriously?!

“Are you kidding me?” You groan, “Why do you think I need space Mando? Hmm? Why?”

If a Mandalorian could look dumbfounded, Mando nailed it, “You… were attacked. Toro, he-“

“He attacked me and I killed him. How many times have you killed someone? More than you can count, I’m sure. What happened to me is no different. We are bounty hunters; we get in life or death situations all the time. Do the other Mandos ‘give you space’ every time you come back with a cut or bruise?” You sigh, “Understand where I’m coming from?” You took a deep breath to calm your hammering heart. You were getting too worked up over this. You didn’t want to be babied; you wanted things to go back to normal.

“You’re right.” Mando admitted, “I’m sorry.”

You nod and turn back and clean the counter off, “So we good now?” You relax your face and look back at him in the doorway. He comes to your side and after a moment, places a hand on your shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

“Yeah, we’re good.”

“Good, I cooked, so you clean.” You hand the rag to him and leave, with a smile on your face.

* * *

The Razor Crest lands in the docking bay of the standalone station. There were very few ships docked, all much smaller than the Pre-Empire mammoth.

It was a heavily populated station; welders, pilots and people were everywhere. You walk beside Mando, feeling fine fully decked out in your hunters rig. Fresh primed blasters holstered in your belt, one on each side. Your shockdart gun strapped into your thigh holster, and your compactable double cuffs secured to the front of your belt. Additionally, you carried two knives, carried inside of your vest. A bandoleer of Droid poppers completed your ensemble.

You felt invincible.

“Mando. Is that you under that bucket?” An older man with an impressive expanse of facial hair approached and shook Mando’s hand.

“Ran.” Mando greets him. Hmm, so this is one of Mando’s old partners from back in the day. You start to wonder how old Mando really is if this is one of his old buddies.

“And this must be your new partner!” Ran gives you what he probably thinks is a rakish grin, “They didn’t make bounty hunters that look like you when I was young that’s for sure.” He winks at Mando.

You give him a coquettish smile and introduced yourself. “Nice to meet’cha Ran, even better to work with you.” You shake his hand firmly. “Mando’s told me a bit about your past together.”

Ran smacks Mando on the beskar, “Oh we got some stories-“

“All a long time ago.” Mando cuts in quickly. “Tell us about this job.”

Ran motions you both to walk with him, “One of our associates ran afoul of some competitors and got himself caught. So I’m puttin’ together a crew to spring him. It’s a six person job, I got four. All I need is the ride, and you brought it.” Ran nods at behemoth Razor Crest. Whoa whoa whoa, they need the ship? It’s barely recovered after the last run in.

“The ship wasn’t part of the deal.” Mando argues halfheartedly.

Ran shrugged, “Well, the Crest is the only reason I let you back in here after you left the team.”

This goes a lot deeper than you thought. The more time that goes by, the more you come to realize you know nothing of the Mandalorian. There’s a lot of history here, and it’s not all good.

“Is that gratitude I see?” Ran laughs loudly.

“Let’s see this team you got,” you cut in, “Let’s go introduce ourselves.” Mando had warned you what Ran was like, you see it now. You wouldn’t want this guy watching your back. This was one of the seedier bounty guilds that operated as dangerously as the Hutts. Spice runners, slave traders, no sense of honor, just in it for the money.

“Come meet the crew,” Ran led the way. Mando slowed down, muttering to you, “I can back us out now if you want.” You frown, and shake your head, “Nah, how bad can it be? There will be a team of us.”

Your teammates left you as uneasy as Mando.

The Ex-Imperian sharpshooter, Mayfeld, is in charge of this mission, and Mando already pissed him off by implying he was a StormTrooper. The tension between them two started to grate on your nerves… and the mission hasn’t even started yet.

The Devaronian strongman Burg made you feel like a child standing next to him. As soon as he opened his mouth, you find he’s just a huge idiot with muscles and on a mission to one up Mando on everything.

The Droid Pilot Zero... you wonder how that’s gonna go with Mando’s distrust of all things droid.

“I thought you said you had four?” Mando says to Ran, staring down the droid.

“He does”

You turn and see a Twi’lek woman sauntering up to Mando, “Hello Mando.”

“Xi’an…” Mando knew this woman, and by the sound of his voice…intimately. That made your gut twist painfully.

She walks up to him, swinging her hips and playing with her knife skillfully, “Tell me why I shouldn’t cut you down where you stand?” swinging the knife to his throat in a lightning fast move even you had trouble anticipating.

Mando doesn’t even flinch, “Nice to see you too.”

“I missed you.” Xi’an pouts, stroking his beskar, “This is shiny.”

“Do we need to leave the room or something?” Mayfeld says what you all were thinking.

Ran chuckles, “Well Xi’an’s been a little heartbroken since Mando left our group.”

Mayfeld coos, “Awww, you gonna be okay sweetheart?”

Xi’an shakes her head, her lekku waving, “Oh, I’m all business now. Learned from the best…” Her eyes fall on you and gives you a once over, smirking, "Looks like Mando has a new interest...” She circles you, sizing you up.

You meet her gaze coldly, staring her down, “We’re partners.” 

Xi’an makes a face, “Hm bedpartners more like.” She winks at you.

“You know you can work with someone and not spread your legs for them, right?”

“But where’s the fun in that?” Xi’an laughs.

Ran breaks in, “All right love birds, enough. Break it up till you get on the ship. Right now we don’t have much time.” The team leaves to follow Ran, leaving you and Mando alone.

“So Xi’an huh?”

You felt Mando’s glare through his visor, you hold up your hands, “This is going to be an interesting job.”

“We can back down.”

“I know… but how much is this payout?” You ask.

“He’s paying us 10,000 imperial credits… each” Mando deadpans.

“Well shit. What are you thinking?”

Mando shrugs, “I’m familiar with the team dynamic, but this team is something else. It keeps you on your toes. I know Xi’an and how she can be-” You make a face and Mando holds a gloved finger up, “Stop... Yeah she’s something, but she’s good. I’ve done many jobs with her.” You hate this feeling of jealousy creep over you at his words but you shove it down and listen.

“They are a team, but they’re not my team.” He pats your back as you walk towards the group, “You’re my team.” It takes a moment for his words to process, and it hits you with a flood of warmth from your toes to your face. You are his team. Your earlier jealousy erased and you felt an instant mood boost. You smile to yourself and nudge him back, “Damn right.” And you go to hear the game plan with the others.

* * *

Shit always goes sideways when you least expected it… It wasn’t when you discovered that you were breaking out their associate from a New Republic jail instead of ‘rival competitors.’ Nor was it when Burgs big dumbass attempted to remove Mando’s helmet, almost getting shot by yours truly.

No

It was when the aforementioned dumbass gets his ass tackled by Mando and fucker opens the kid’s cubby. Exposing him to the last people you would want to see the little guy.

“Whoa, what the fuck is that?” Mayfeld peers at the bewildered child.

Mayfeld looks over at Mando, “You get lonely up here buddy? Huh?”

You slip through and grab the kid before any of them could get near him. “He’s a little bogwing I picked up during a job.” You think quickly, “Thought he was pretty cute and got him as a pet.” You force yourself to act nonchalant as your heart raced a million beats a minute.

“Fuck it looks like something I hacked up this morning.” Mayfeld grimaces.

Mando shoves Burg out of his way, putting himself between you and the others, “Put that thing away.” Mando says angrily. You pick up the act right away.

“I know you hate the thing but damn,” you huff under your breath, loud enough for the others to hear.

Xi’an cuts in, “Wait wait wait, let me see the lil fucker.” She leaned forward, reaching out to take him. You resist the urge to pull him out of her reach, but know any sign of hesitation would be met with further scrutiny by them. You hand him over, “He’s cute in my opinion,” you throw a glance at Mayfeld. “One thing that pisses me off is he likes to piss whenever he’s held…” Xi’an blanches and almost throws him back into your arm. “That’s disgusting!”

Mando agrees, “She knows the next time the little shit pisses on me it’s gone.” You cradle to the kid to you as you take him to your room, heart hammering. Fuck that was close. You look at the child in your arms and try to calm down. Fuck Fuck Fuck. You listen to them out in the cargo hold, loud and boisterous; you pray that this job is done quickly. You place the kid in your bed, petting his wrinkled head and whispering little lyrics of random songs to him. He looks up at you silently, not talking his normal baby talk. It was as though he knew something was wrong. You tuck him in your sheets with his makeshift doll, “Stay here Bright Eyes, don’t let them see you.” You whisper into his huge ears, running a finger over them lightly. You pray he understood you. 

The ship lurches suddenly, throwing you to the ground in a heap. What the fuck?! Zero’s voice comes through the intercom, announcing approach to the Republican ship. You tuck the child in tightly and compose yourself before exiting the room, keying the locking panel combination as you left.

It’s go time.

* * *


	7. Damn It

Chapter 7

Damn It

The ships attach, the hulls shining bright, illuminating Mando’s helmet as he worked on opening the hatch combination. You stood watch over him, keeping an eye on those around you. Xi’an and Mayfeld stood off by themselves in the corner, conversing privately. You didn’t like the look Xi’an sent your way. It made the hair on the back of your neck prickle. You pull out your shockdart, giving it a spark test which caused Mayfeld and Xi’an to look at you sharply. You smile at them innocently, holstering it and giving it a little pat where it lay against your thigh. A warning… and a promise.

The decoder device in Mando’s hand lights up green, and the hatch slides open. You stand around the hole in the floor, looking at one another, unease apparent on their faces as the time comes for action. By chance, all eyes turn to Mayfeld.

“It’s me?”

Burg nods, “It’s always you.” His statement makes you wonder how many jobs this team has done together in the past… This wasn’t a rag tag bunch of misfits pulled together for this selected job. These three have worked together before, several times it seems. Now you and Mando are the newcomers; the outsiders to the group. You don’t trust them, and they sure as hell don’t trust you. You’re here to rescue one of their own… what kind of teammate are you recovering to rejoin them?

Mayfeld hypes himself up before taking the first reconnaissance. He disappears, Xi’an following after him. You follow Xi’an, both blasters held at the low ready, Burg lands behind you like a tonton in an antique store, and then Mando brings up the rear.

“Alright we’re on the clock.” Mayfeld sets his watch, “Let’s go.”

You follow behind Mayfeld as the team sneaks through one of the many holding cell corridors. Inmates peer at the procession through the slits in their cells. All are quiet, observing, curious, but not calling out to you. It was eerie. Mando felt it too.

“I don’t like this,” he remarks, glancing at the inmates as we pass.

“You always were paranoid,” Xi’an quips.

No, this doesn’t feel right- BANG! An inmate slams into his cell door, squealing at us, startling everyone.

Xi’an hisses and laughs at the inmate. Fuck her laugh is annoying…

Zero came over the radio, broadcasting the control room was nearby and gave the directions. Mando and Mayfeld post up, covering the closed entrance to the control room. Burg goes ahead, and is stopped when a small droid rolls up, beeping at him. Everyone freezes.

Burg shoots the droid as it retreats. Fuck! The blast echoes of the walls, so fuckin loud!

“Idiot!” You hiss, “Now they know we’re here!”

Burg glares at you, “What, it’s just a little mousey?”

Steps echo from the corridor and gun wielding droids appear.

“Intruder alert. Open fire.”

You throw yourself behind a partition just as the first blast whizz by you. That was so close. Dammit. You look over at the advancing droids marching steadily down the hall towards you. Mayfeld, Burg and Mando returned fire at the droids. It wasn’t doing any good. The blasts rays from the droids were too close. These hallways weren’t adequate cover. You look back at the droids, you have an idea.

“We’re too exposed here!” Xi’an shouts.

“If they get a signal out its not gonna matter!” Mayfeld takes another shot at the advancing droids.

“Fuckin’ do something!” Mayfeld looks to you and Mando. The droids were within range. You grab one of your Droid poppers and roll it over between the droids.

“Shoot the pod!” You cry to Mando. He takes aim and fires, hitting it perfectly.

A bang followed by a high pitch whine burns your ears. The droids crumple, electricity visibly dancing over their inert forms. Everyone recovers and approaches the fallen droids. You kneel down, grabbing on of the droids heads and pop the carapace flap in the back, removing the wires.

“Quickly, do what I do. You have less than a minute before they reboot. Grab the wires from their CPU and rip them out.” Mando follows your lead and Mayfeld. You’re done in seconds. Mando gives you a nod, “Good work.”

Two more droids appear without warning and Mando dives at them. You roll away and watch as Mando destroys one droid after another. He makes it look like a dance! You wince as he’s hit but recovers, sending a bolt through the droids head. It takes mere seconds for their bodies to join those of their fallen comrades. You realized this is the first time you’ve actually seen Mando in action. Damn he is good! He stands amid the crumpled droids and you feel a surge of attraction unlike before. Jeez, you hope your face isn’t turning red.

Burg scoffs contemptuously.

Mayfeld walks past, “Make sure to clean up you mess.” He sneers.

Fucker.

“I didn’t see you do a damn thing, and you have three blasters...” You retort to the supposed ‘sharpshooter’, “I think you were a Stormtrooper?”

Mayfeld whirls on you, “Listen here you little cunt-“

Zero’s voice cuts through the comms, “It seems your presence has been detected. Redirecting security alert away from your position.”

Mayfeld glares at you and turns away, everyone running to catch up to him as he tells Zero to open the door to the control room. The hatch slides open as you run for it, and halt immediately.

There was a human on board… this place was supposed to be manned by droids not people! This is going south again. Anxiety started roiling in your gut.

“Stop!” the man yells, pulling out a blaster aiming it at Mayfeld. They pull out their blasters and enter the control room slowly. The man visibly panics, “J-Just s-stop right there!” He waved the blaster at all of you and commanded, “You put down the blasters right now!”

The others approached like they didn’t hear him, and sized him up and down as they circle him like vultures on a dead animal. The guy is visibly panicking being put against 6 enemies. He probably thought this would be a nice gig at first. Piloting a secured prison for the New Republic… all your coworkers are droids, peace and quiet for a great paycheck. That is until we showed up, you thought to yourself.

Mando was thinking along the same lines as you, “There were only supposed to be droids on this ship.”

“Cell two two one” Mayfeld calls at the control panel, “All right, now for our well-dressed friend-“

The man pulls out a switch from his belt, holding it up like a bomb. It got everyone’s attention, especially Mayfeld. He tried to pacify the man, “Whoa whoa whoa, easy egghead. Put that down, put that down come on-“

The man points his blaster at Mando who had stepped forward,“Easy, no one has to get hurt here. Just calm down,” Mando says in the same voice he uses on the kid when he’s acting up.

“What is that thing?” Burg asks. You were wondering the same thing.

“It’s a tracking beacon-“

“He presses that thing, we’re all done… A New Republic attack team will hone in on that signal and blow us all to hell. Put it Down!” Mayfeld steps towards the scared New Republic guy.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck… you look at Mando. What type of shit have you gotten yourselves into?! You eye the tracking beacon in the man’s grasp… If he pushes that button… you’re all done.

Your left hand slowly holsters your blaster and you reach for your Shockdart. If you could stun the guy and he drops the tracker, everything would be fine. You flick on the primer and wait with your finger just slightly off the trigger.

It won’t hurt him much; just make him feel like he grabbed a live wire for a couple seconds.

Mando attempts to placate the man, “hey hey hey, listen to me okay? Look.” Mando holsters his blaster and tries to get the others to do the same, “Put it down.”

He turns back to the man, “What’s your name?”

“It’s D-Davan.” The man stutters.

“Davan, we aren’t here for you we are here for a prisoner. If you let us go about our job, you can walk away with your life.”

“No he won’t!” Mayfeld argues.

You blink, and then everyone has their blasters out pointing at each other. Your right blaster held to Mayfeld, your shockdart at Davan. Fuck this is bad!

“We are not killing anybody”

“Get that blaster out of my face Mando!” Mayfelds third gun rises up and trains on him.

You move to shock Davan, only to be beat by Xi’an’s knife. Davan falls to the ground, the blaster and tracker dropping from his lifeless fingers.

“Would you all just shut up,” she kneels and retrieves her knife from Davan’s neck.

“Why the fuck did you do that?! I had him.” You growl at Xi’an, pointing the shockdart at her face. She seemed unconcerned .

“Crazy Twi” Mayfeld mutters. You stare at Davan’s body… poor guy. You look to the tracker… there were flashing red lights.

“Guys…” You call attention to it, “the beacon is flashing!”

“Zero to Mayfeld. Zero to Mayfeld. I’ve detected a New Republic distress signal homing in on your location.” Zero’s voice drones over the comms. “You have approximately 20 minutes.”

Well shit. We need to work and fast. Everyone rushes from the control center. Burg charges and destroys two huge slow-moving drones that patrol the hallway. He flexes at Mando afterwards in a show of brute strength. Seriously? This was neither the time nor place for a big dick contest. Fucking move!

You all arrived at cell two two one and Mayfeld inserts the probe, telling Zero to send the signal to unlock it. Zero replies with the countdown until the Republic arrives… 15 minutes.

The hatch slides open, another Twi’lek sat inside the cell.

“Qin.” Mando says, surprised. The Twi gets up from his bench and saunters to the exit. He’s the same shade of purple as Xi’an… and walks like her too. Must be related.

Qin grins at his rescuers, Mando in particular, “Funny, the man who left me behind is now my savior. Mando.” He nods in greeting. We are running out of time.

“Great, we got him. Let’s get the fuck out of here” You urge. You turn and scan the halls, which was the way back to the ship?

You turn in time to see Burg punch Mando in the chest, sending him falling into the open cell. You whirl around just as that fucking bitch kicks you in after him. One of them sends a blast ray through the cell opening. The blast pings off the walls as you roll and dive to miss it.

The hatch slams shut.

Mando grunts as the blast ray strikes his beskar, sending him against the wall, “You good?” you gasp, standing up and jumping to look through the slits in the cell. You see the fuckers run off, celebrating along the way.. 

“Fuck fuck fuck fuckfuckfuckfuuuuuuck! How much time do we have?!”

Mando goes to the door and looks out, silent. Now was not the time to be quiet and broody Mando!

“Say something!”

“I don’t know. Not much time.”

You groan, “They have your ship Mando… they have him.” You pray the child is still asleep in your bed. You shove down the thoughts of Xi’an and Mayfeld messing with the little kid. You grow angry and slam your fist on the metal ground. You need to get out of here before the Republic blows the whole place up!

“Quiet.” Mando urges.

He was watching something out the door… you hear steps and gear whirling… a droid. You hold your breath as Mando shoots a wire out and turns, slamming the droid into the door like a fish on the end of the line. The droid struggles against entrance of the cell. He reaches over and fires into the cell. You jump back, dancing to avoid the blast ray before it dissipates. Mando tears the droid’s arm off and fires at it with its own gun. He drops the gun and grabs the droid arm, maneuvering the mechanisms to extract the key to unlock the cell door.

The cell door slides open. Damn… that was legit.

“You’re pretty badass Mando.” You tell him as you both run out into the corridor, “What’s the plan?”

“Stop them.”

“No shit. But how?” A thought hits you and dart down the opposite hall, “Come on! The control room!” You don’t run into any droids on the way to the control room. How many droids were on this ship? And how many did the team already take out during this mission? Mando follows you into the control room, carefully stepping over the body of Davan.

You scan the monitors security feed and point to one, “There!”

You see the Twi’s, Mayfeld and Burg on the monitors. You look around at the controls at your command and smile to yourself, “Lights out kids.” You hit the button and flipped the switches.

“What did you do?” Mando asked, looking over your shoulder. You point at the screen, “Look.”

He watches the feed for a moment and nods his approval, “Good work.”

You smile, “I say it’s time for some payback.”

Before you both left the control room you see Xi’an and Burg had split up in the south wing of the ship.

“You get Burg, Xi’an is mine.”

You finger the blasters at your belt, excited. The thrill of the hunt rises up in you along with revenge.

Mando nods, “Let’s do this.”

* * *

You left the control room and sneak along the corridors, cutting off the fallen droids access keys to gain entry into the secured wings you had used to cut off Mayfeld and the others. You and Mando split, divide and conquering. You locate Xi’an strolling down the hall like she was going for a scenic walk on the shores of Naboo.

“Mando…” she sings softly. Nope, no Mando here honey.

You step out in front of her, “Hello Xi’an.” She smiles, saying your name . The red lights of the backup generator illuminate the halls with the intermittent strobe of the alarm sensors.

You pull out your blasters, “I think you know where this is going girlfriend…” You aim and fire, Xi’an dart to the side and screams in anger as one of your blast grazes her lekku, leaving a charred furrow. Xi’an throws a dagger at you before you could evade it fully. FUCK that hurts. You left your mark on her, and she left one embedded in your left shoulder. She throws two more, but now you expected it and evade the projectiles, your shoulder singing with the movement. You duck behind a partition, grit your teeth and yank the dagger out. You’re lucky they are small, or that would’ve fucked your shoulder up beyond use.

“Oh come on,” Xi’an cajoles, “Come out and play with me… I’m lonely.”

You dash out, grabbing the knife from your vest and decide that close combat would best. Anything to keep her from throwing more of those shits at you. Xi’an was trained in close combat you discovered.

You hit and evaded, back and forth, trading offense and defense with every move. She grabbed your hair, pulling your head back as she snarled in your face. You darted out and slice off one lekku, the protrusion falling to the ground thrashing as she screamed in pain. If she wanted to fight dirty you’d oblige her. She backed away, holding one hand to the amputated stump remaining of her lock.

You knew those things were sensitive and had hoped she would’ve been incapacitated by the blow.

But no… she’s tougher than she looks, and you admired that. She threw herself at you screaming, slashing and stabbing. You ducked out of her range, hitting her wrist and kicking a knife away. You score a kick to the side of her face, sending her flying back, sprawled to the floor. You jump on her, scoring a knee to her gut. “Stay down!” you gasp, already beginning to feel winded.

Shit you’ve been out of the game too long… Xi’an strikes you to the side of the face, stunning you long enough for her to get her footing. She leans over you and you kick out, kicking her away from you. You roll to your side and stand.

“Question… for-you,” you grunt, blocking a punch to the neck and returning one to her face. Xi’an gasps at the impact and sweeps her leg, catching yours; bringing you both down to the floor. You maneuver around her, grabbing her arm and pulling it taunt in an arm-bar, your legs caging both sides of her torso, holding her taut and wait for her response. You hold her elbow there at the breaking point until she growls, “What?!”

“Why did Mando leave your team?” The question had been bothering you since the beginning of the mission. If he had such a good thing going here, what made him leave?

Xi’an thrashed underneath you but ceased when you applied more pressure to her elbow, “Answer my question.” You order as you tweak her arm back and forth almost playfully. Gods you were enjoying this.

“He- ah! He left because of my brother!” She snarls, “Qin killed a group Mando considered-ah! Considered innocents! They were nobodies-eeek!” She screeched. “When Mando left, so did our best fighters. Qin and I never forgave him for that.”

So that’s it… You release her arm with one hand to grab your cuffs from your belt in order to detain her, taking slight pressure off Xi’an’s shoulder. That slight relief was all the bitch needed. She rolled towards you and over, elbowing you in the face as she sprung up out of your reach. The blow rattles you, and you curse yourself for a split moment of complacency.

You force yourself to rise… but not fast enough.

Xi’an pulls out two daggers, sending them at you quick as lightning. One slices you in the injured shoulder, causing your left arm to go senseless. The other is embedded in your side right under your vest. The pain makes you dizzy and knocks the air out of you. You throw droid popper on the ground making her jump, distracted by the puck as you grab your shock dart with your right arm. You aim, and fire it at Xi’an, the twin probes connecting with her chest and abdomen. She seizes and drops to the floor convulsing spasmodically, unable to do anything but ride the lightning. You hold onto the shockdart, ready to send another charge if she gets up. You’re able to turn her onto her stomach and cuff her clumsily with one hand, getting it done before the charge wears off. You pull the prongs out of her and holster the shockdart.

When the cuffs were securely placed you sit back onto the floor, wincing and hold a hand to your side. Xi’an’s dagger was in deep. You pant as you grab the handle and rip it free, your vision going black at the edges. It takes a few moments for your sense to return. Fuck that hurts. Your shoulder, arm and side leaked blood steadily, staining your clothes. Damn, you really liked this outfit...

Xi’an, now somewhat recovered from the ride, laughs quietly, “Hhhehee, got you.” She pants, shuddering spasmodically from the remaining charge running thorough her body. As the charge fades, she licks the blood from her pointed canines in a grotesque grin, “All because you’re jealous.”

You almost didn’t comprehend her words, the pain was making you slow, “Jealous? Of wha…”

She rolls herself onto her side facing you, “I fucked Mando… and you want to.” She mocks, her annoying fucking laugh echoing in your head.

She stops laughing as you pull her dagger from where you rammed it in her throat.

Blood trickles between her lips and stains her teeth further. Xi’an breathes in, attempting to draw in breath despite her ruined throat. Air bubbles gather at the incision. Blood pools underneath her as the life in her eyes fade. You watch her die, feeling disconnected with your own body as you watch the life leave hers.

“Your laugh is annoying.” You grunt as you pull yourself up, hand held to your side to control the bleeding. Xi’an got to you… and you killed her.

You didn’t feel good about it and doubted there was any sort of mental gymnastics you could come up with for you to justify killing an unarmed enemy.

It was jealousy. Pure and simple.

You leave her body and go find Mando.

The halls were a maze, the flashing lights disorienting you as much as the pain. You stagger down the hall to the ship and hear your name. Mando comes up from behind you, “Hey,” He sees the blood on you clothes and takes your arm, pulling you to a halt.

“Are you injured?”

You wave him away, “Twi bitch stuck me. Where are the others?”

“I handled Burg and Mayfeld, last one is Qin.” Xi’an’s brother.

You force yourself to stand straight and trudge on, “Let’s go. That droid is still with the kid.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> No one is perfect. Never underestimate your enemies, in any aspect.  
> 


	8. Cassian

Chapter 8

Cassian

The male Twi’lek had his foot on the ladder, about to ascend into the Razor Crest until you and Mando show up.

“Qin” Mando called out to the fleeing Twi. You pulled out your blaster with your good arm, waiting for an excuse to send his ass to the afterlife with his sister. Zero was alone in that ship with the kid and you didn’t know if the droid was in on this heist. Zero was programmed by Ran, maybe he hadn’t been influenced by Mayfeld and Xi’an. There’s only one way to find out.

Qin stepped off the ladder, “You killed the others?” Qin says, glaring at you and Mando. Were the others alive? You hadn’t asked what Mando did with Burg and Mayfeld.

“They got what they deserved.”

Oh… he killed them.

Qin whirls towards you and Mando, blaster up at the ready. You and Mando aimed at him, unwavering. You were so done with this shit…

Qin smirked, “You kill me you don’t get your money. Whatever Ran promised I’ll make sure you get that and more.” He looks between you and throws down his blaster.

You almost forgot there was money involved with this job. Everything had gone to shit and this Twi was the prize you both were to bring back for the reward. The others didn’t matter; this was the prize.

“You were hired to do the job right? So do it. Isn’t that your code? Aren’t you a man of honor?”

Mando lowers his blaster and nods to you, “Cuff him.”

“Face away from me and put your hands behind your back,” You move forward, blaster at the ready in case he tries anything. Each step made you grit your teeth. Fuck you need a med pack. Qin follows your orders and you cuff him without any issues. The hatch lay open above; you listen and hear the droid moving though the ship overhead. 

Mando ascends the ladder, “You stay with him. I’ll see to Zero.”

You nod, watching Qin’s gaze follow Mando until he disappeared through the floor to the Razor Crest.

Qin’s eyes fall on you. He notes the blood and smirks, “Sister gave you a good fight.”

You shrug, “And she’s dead.”

Qin snarls at you. You hold up your blaster, “You that eager to join her?”

Qin backs away, hate in his eyes.

A blast echoes overhead, loud and sudden. Your heart skips a beat.

Then you hear Mando’s voice call down signaling all clear.

In the Razor Crest, Mando goes into hyperdrive to get away from the New Republic ship. You secured Qin in the cargo hold, attaching his cuffs to the bench and leave him until you get back to the station and return him to Ran. Zero’s body is pulled into the cargo hold and laid next to your forge; you could use the scrap metal. Mando had caught him about to blast the kid. Fucking piece of trash.

Mando handles the transaction with Ran as you watch the kid. You know about the tracker he left on Qin and laugh as you hear the X wings closing in on the station. Justice. The payout… almost made it all worth it.

* * *

Your left arm has steadily lost all function and feeling the past hour. You grab a med pack and take it to the refresher. You didn’t want to bother Mando, but the kid would not stop following you.

“Mando?” You call out, “Can you entertain the kid for a bit? I need to get some stuff done.”

Mando comes and grabs the kid for you. He notes the med pack in your hand, “You good?”

“Yeah just gotta close these cuts.” You turn to the refresher and close the door. You bite your lip as you remove you vest and blood drenched undershirt to take a look at the damage. The wound in your side was obscene. The inch long gape still leaked blood as did the one in your shoulder. The cut on your arm had stopped bleeding thankfully. You wipe off the blood as best you could and open the med pack. You get dizzy several times and have to take a break before you continued. This isn’t right. You’ve had knife wounds before… they didn’t make you feel this slow… numb.

You heart stutters.

Poison.

You force yourself to move quicker. You pick up the biotic shot and before you could hesitate you slam it into your ass cheek, depressing the plunger as you hiss in pain. You don’t know if it would help against the poison that’s already in your bloodstream but know it can’t do any harm. What kind of poison was on her knives? It must be slow-acting since you’re still alive. The only symptoms you could discern are numbness and disorientation.

Fuck… Your right leg has started losing feeling. It takes you three tries to get up and go for the door of the refresher. You grab the handle and almost fall out the door, “Mando!” you shout, before you realize you don’t have a shirt, only your breast band on.

Screw it he’s seen you in less.

Mando appears, “What’s wrong.” He hesitates at that sight of your undress then see’s the wounds on you and swears.

“It’s poison.” You say, “Xi’an coats her daggers in something. I can’t feel my arm… my leg is going numb.”

Mando helps you stand, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

You lean on him, the beskar cold against your fevered skin. It felt so good, “I didn’t know.” You were so dizzy, “Do you know what poison she uses?”

“I don’t. Can you walk?” Mando leads you down to your room before your leg gave out. He leans down and scoops you into his arms. He carries you the rest of the way to your room. Mando places you on your bed and returns with another med pack and begins fishing through the supplies.

“What… are you looking for?” you ask him wearily. You feel so tired… so damn tired.

Mando threw aside bandages and ointments, “For something that can help!” You hear the stress in his voice, he doesn’t sound himself. You look down, gently touching the edges of the gash on your side, the pain was gone. You touch it more, prodding and poking the edges, amazed that you couldn’t feel your touch on your own skin.

“Stop it.” Mando chides, taking your hand away from your grotesque explorations. He was kneeling next to your bed, and began cleaning the wounds with a clean cloth. You couldn’t feel him touching you and it was the most bizarre thing. You wish you could feel his touch on your skin, no matter how professional he’s being.

He nudges you each time your eyes begin to close, saying your name sharply.

“…sorry, s’tired.” You manage to say. You jerk when Mando injects another biotic shot into your ass cheek, “Ow!” You sure as hell felt that! He looks you over, asking you questions as he prodded around the wounds, finding out how far the numbness had spread. He became more concerned the more questions you answered.

“What are we going to do?” You ask calmly as you began to realize there wasn’t going to be a happy ending for you.

“Whatever we can.” Mando says with finality, pushing the hair out of your face and swearing at the heat emanating from you. You were sweating like a whore in Canto Bight on bachelor night. He brought the med pack over and worked on cleaning and disinfecting the wounds on your abdomen and shoulder. He pulls out the cauterizer and you flinch away. Oh fuck no! You grab his wrist, stopping him from bringing that cursed thing near you.

“You won’t feel it.” Mando grabs your wrist, gently prying your hand off him. He turns the damned thing on and lowers it to the gash on your side. Before he makes contact, he holds your hand in his, holding it for your sake, or so you don’t stop him, you don’t know. He lowers the cauterizer and gets to work……..-

Okay…He was right, you don’t feel a thing.

You watch him burn the wound, wrinkling your nose at the smell it gave off; like cooking meat. Gross. Mando looks up to check how you’re handling it and you nod, “Can’t feel a thing.” Mando takes care of the ones on your shoulder and before you know it… he’s done. Holy hell… You stare at his work, thankful for once that the poison has rendered you numb to Mando’s healing measures.

Mando shuts the hand-held machine off and leaves the room.

You sit up slowly and reach over to grab the water from your night stand. Fucking damn everything, you don’t have the strength to do it! Your hand knocks the water off the counter, spilling its contents on the floor. You were so thirsty… You fall back onto the bed, dejected. Seriously…

Mando returns with an ice sleeve and sees the water on the floor. He refills your cup and lifts you up, holding the cup to your lips. You drink gratefully, the cold waters quenching the heat in your throat. He lowers you back to the bed when you had your fill. Mando reaches out and runs a hand over your forehead, wiping away the sweat that clung to you. He placed the ice sleeve over your forehead and you groan gratefully at the relief.

“I’ll get you some help.” Mando promises, “I know of a healer on Coruscant, we can be there by morning… You need to fight it until then. You’ll be fine, I promise.”

* * *

_Hours Later_

Where is he?! You thrash in the blankets covering you, the damn things tangled around your legs. Why couldn’t you get up?! You feel someone holding you down back to the bed. You flail against them, reaching out with your one working arm, striking something hard: metal. You hear someone calling your name but you don’t care. Where is he?!

“Cassian!” You cry, “Where’s Cassian?!” You push the man’s arms away from you. You feel a jolt as you fall off the bed and hit the ground.

“Cassian? Cassian?” You call. The man crouches in front of you scooping you into his arms, “Give him to me!” You plead, grabbing hold of the man’s arms, “Please…” Why won’t he tell you where Cassian is?!

Through your fevered haze you hear a baby’s babble…

“Cassian? Cassian! Where are you baby?!”You reach out frantically, you must see him! Where is he?! You fight against the man’s hold, trying desperately to reach out to Cassian.

A small body is placed in your arms. The relief is instant. You wrap your good arm around him, holding him tightly, “I’m so sorry.” You cry, rocking him, “I’m so sorry… you’re okay baby.”

You’re lifted and placed back into your bed as you clutched Cassian to you, cuddling him in your arms. Your beautiful little boy. He’s not dead. He’s right here. His little hand moves over your face, talking to you in his baby babble that was music to your ears.

Slowly, you feel the oppressive heat recede from your body. You feel the cool of a wet cloth on your brow… Cassian’s hand was on your shoulder and you reach up to grab him and pull him away back into your arms. Before you could grab him, a gloved hand takes yours, holding it still. You were too tired to fight it. “C’mere Cass-“ you murmur. You feel someone squeeze your hand and say something you couldn’t catch. “Hm?” You open your eyes. A dark figure comes into focus in front of you. A helmet… You recognize Mando… he’s kneeling on the floor beside your bed. He says your name, rubbing your hand with a gloved thumb, and whispers, “It’s ok…sleep.” You can’t sleep… Cassian is here…

A great heaviness grew over you as you felt Mando's hands rub the crown of your head. You feel your lids grow heavy close your eyes and fall into nothingness.

* * *

_Whap_

_Whap_

_Giggle_

_Whap_

You wince, pulling away from the impact on your cheek. You had been sleeping so well, such nice dreams… and this rude awakening was just…not…it. You grab the little hand as it lands on your cheek and open your eyes. The kid smiled down at you, his little toothy grin bringing a smile to yours. Had he snuck in again last night?

You tickled him under his chin, getting him to squeal with laughter. When he quieted and began playing with your fingers, you shifted… and looked down at yourself. You had no wounds, but there was blood on your chest bindings, and the sheets.

You sat up and set the kid on the floor next to his toys. You look down at yourself, where did this blood come from?! You ran your hands over your body, finding yourself whole.

The memories of the previous day slammed into you all at once.

Ran

Mayfeld

Prison

Xi’an

Poison

You stood up, careful not to step on the little beast, and go look in the mirror. You look like you did yesterday. The only difference was your bloodstained pants and bra. Your shoulder… you touch it tenderly and remember pulling Xi’an’s knife out… but the skin was smooth? Not even a mark. Wha?...You touch your side; smooth skin, not a ridge, nor pucker or redness. You ran your hands over the ghostly memory of the wounds, finding no evidence they were ever there. But the blood…

What happened?

You were poisoned… that reality hit you like a ton of bricks… Xi’an’s knifes were poisoned. You were dying. You touch your face and body in the mirror, not believing your eyes, you were dying… but you’re here. Alive. No wounds at all…

You open your mouth to call for Mando, and stop, and look at yourself in the mirror… and sniff.

You need a shower. Badly.

You look at the child; he was content, playing with bandages from a discarded med pack. You shrug and head straight for the refresher. Once you stepped in, you feel the humidity and smell Mando’s scent. He was in here recently. He’s awake then…

After a shower you felt more like yourself. You did feel intermittent moments of dizziness, but all together you felt fine, if not completely fucking confused.

You dress and step out your room with the kid. “Mando?”

You find him in the control room. You place the kid in his pram and face Mando.

Mando turns to you, “Hey.”

“Hey…”

He looks you up and down, “How are you feeling? You look…normal.”

“What happened to me?” You ask Mando, “I remember being stabbed, poisoned and losing feeling in my body… that’s it. I wake up this morning and I don’t have a single cut or bruise.” You run your hands over yourself, “I can’t have imagined the whole thing.”

Mando nods, “You didn’t imagine it. You were dying. I don’t really know how to explain it but…” He nods to the kid, “He healed you.”

You look to the kid and tried to comprehend what Mando was saying. The kid healed you?

“Tell me everything.” You sat in the copilot chair and look out at the stars. That kid was special… had he saved you again? He’s two for two…

“You were calling out for… Cassian.”

You heart stops.

You said his name?

Years… Years had gone by without you uttering his name.

The pain...no matter how much time had passed the pain is too fresh.

A lump builds in your throat and your eyes burn. You take a ragged deep breathe, wishing your heart wouldn’t feel like it was stuck in your gut. You hadn’t talked about him… to anyone. You didn’t know if you could.

Mando says your name… You stand up and leave the room. Mando follows you to the pantry. It was early morning but you didn’t give a damn. You pour yourself a dose of liquor and slam it back. Mando stood behind you, silent. You could feel him in the room without seeing him… how many people’s presence could be felt like that? You clear your throat, and rub the burning from your eyes, not all of it contributed to the alcohol.

You pour yourself another and silently gesture to Mando, who shook his head. You’ll be drinking alone.

You’re used to it.

You pull yourself up to sit on the counter and take a sip instead of draining the glass this time. The bottle was placed within arms reach if…when you need more.

Mando waited patiently on the opposite side of the pantry. You clear your throat again… not knowing how to start.

“Wh-What was I saying… last night?” If you were gonna explain yourself you might as well know how much he does.

“You had a fever, and woke up calling for him. Asking where he was… You heard the kid and thought he was Cassian. You wouldn’t calm down until I handed the kid to you.” At his words you begin to remember fragments of the fever dream.

“When I put the kid in your arms, he put his hand on your shoulder and… well I don’t know what he did. He concentrated like he did with the Mudhorn, but different. Instead of moving stuff with his mind, your wound healed under his hand.” The kid had saved you again… He could life things with his mind, choke people, and heal?

Mando continued, “When I saw what he did for your shoulder I moved him to your side, and he healed that one as well. After he healed you, your fever faded and I tried to take the kid so you could sleep. Anytime I tried to take the kid, you’d get upset so I left him with you.”

He finished and leaned back against the counter and waited.

You never thought you would tell anyone about Cassian. Pretending that part of your life never existed worked for you… for the most part. After his death you threw yourself into bounty hunting and drink. At first alcohol was the only way you could sleep at night. You would drink so much you would pass out where ever you were, forge, captain chair, your cot, outside… where ever. Alcohol would send you to a deep enough sleep that you wouldn’t dream.

And that got you by.

Until you joined Mando and the kid…

It wasn’t until a few days after you joined Mando you noticed you haven’t had a drink… You were baffled by the revelation. You were playing with the kid when it hit you. You stared at the kid, thinking to yourself the kid and Cassian appeared to be around the same age when he died.

Playing with him, being around him, caring for him… had filled the hole Cassian had left.

You swallowed the lump in your throat and forced the words out, “Cassian was my son.” You said out loud for the first time since his death, “He was 2 when… someone killed him and my parents.”

“I’m sorry…” Mando said softly.

“I haven’t talked about him since he died… and my parents. My dad used to be a bounty hunter; he went into retirement after I had Cassian. Dad taught me everything I know. I left Cassian with them when I went away for a job… it got extended… couldn’t find the guy for two weeks. I don’t know what happened… No one could tell me for certain what happened; only what they found.” You blink back the tears. Mando was silent, letting you speak when you were ready.

“Greef Karga requested I turn in the bounty at my village on Elenta. I thought that was strange, we always did the trade off on Nevarro. Karga was there when I landed. I could tell something was wrong. After the trade off, Karga pulled me aside.”

Years later you could still remember how hot it was that day. You were tired, sweaty and anxious to get home. You wished Karga would hurry up with whatever he had to say. You missed your son, and wanted to get back to him as soon as possible. You never expected your world to shatter moments later.

“My parent’s home was burned to the ground… they found three bodies inside. One of them was my son… Our neighbors attempted to put out the fire when they saw the flames but it was too late. When the fire was out, they found my family’s burned remains. They all had blaster wounds… even my son.”

You couldn’t hold back the tears that flowed down your face. You prayed your son had died before the fire got to him.

“There were rumors a stranger came the night the fire happened. It was said the stranger was asking about me and my father. When Karga heard of the rumors he tried to find out who it was, or get a description of him. Karga said he searched my village and the shipyard for anyone that had arrived or left during that time. He couldn’t get a solid description; it changed from every source. The villagers kept my families bodies as long as they could waiting for me to return… That fucking job kept me so long they had to continue with the funeral preparations.”

You were three days too late.

Karga took you to their funeral pyres and stayed with you for a week. He was there as you screamed, as you destroyed the room in the inn, as you drank yourself almost to death every night. Greef Karga brought your bounty to you and let you put holes through him and still paid you the live price. He continued to take care of you in his own way. You couldn’t remember much of the first month after their deaths… it was a blur of alcohol, nightmares, sleepless nights, and things you wish you could forget…

You haven’t been back to Elenta since. You cough, clearing your throat and taking a big swig of your drink, wishing that the alcohol hit you harder.

“Cassian’s father?” Mando asks.

You laugh harshly, surprising yourself, “He disappeared when we found out I was pregnant. Never heard from or saw him again. It was for the best. Discovered later he had gotten into deep trouble with the Hutts.” Fucking idiot had accepted a bounty and decided to double cross two buyers for it for double the payout. From what you had heard, he was on the run, jumping from parsec to parsec.

Last year you went to Nevarro and met with Greef Karga for new jobs. He slid you several pucks that you picked through.

One of them had been Cassian’s father.

You remembered the feeling of the breath frozen in your chest at the sight of his hologram rotating before you. He was wanted by the Hutts and the reward for him was an obscene amount. Karga didn’t know his relation to you, and tried to goad you into accepting the job. But you couldn’t do it. As much as you hated him for leaving you to raise Cassian on your own, you wouldn’t have had Cassian without him.

After you left Greef Karga, you drank yourself stupid and woke up in a pile of your own vomit. After that, you vowed to never let yourself get that bad again.

“It was me and Cassian and it worked out well for us up until it didn’t.” You parent took great care of Cassian when you went out on jobs. Dad was overjoyed that you had a son. They were inseparable… Gods you miss them so much.

Greef Karga told you what he learned of the stranger but it was nothing you could realistically work with. It was a male human. That was all any witness could agree to. The first two years after your family’s deaths you tried and tried and tried to gain any leads on who would want your family dead. The witnesses said that the stranger was looking for you and your father… not just you… not just Dad. Both of you. You spent many sleepless nights trying to remember every bounty you brought in. You wrote down the names you remember and their crimes, but there were too many for you to remember.

That was a dark time in your life. Going from having everything… to nothing in the space of one moment… You recently got your life somewhat together in the past three years after their deaths.

“I’m so sorry.” Mando said quietly. You nodded and leaned against the wall, cradling your cup between your palms. Mando moved forward and grabbed the bottle. You thought he was going to put it away but he opened it and added more to your cup.  
“I can never understand the feelings of losing a child,” He says as he pours, “I do understand losing family. I lost my parents before the Mandalorians took me in.” He sets the bottle aside and looks at you. “You’ve been through a lot, and turned out better than most people in your situation. I never would have guessed the pain you’ve gone through.”

You felt the tightness in your chest ease with his admission. Everyone has lost someone: a mother, brother, father, sister, child… especially in these times. You’re comforted by talking about Cassian and your family to Mando… you had kept it to yourself for so long.

“Do you miss them?” You ask quietly.

Mando nods, “Some days I can’t remember their faces… but yes, I still do miss them.”

You get off the counter and pour yourself a glass of water and chug it down. You wash your face in the sink and towel off. You felt a hand on your shoulder, you look up at Mando. For some reason you are always surprised by his height. He wasn’t extraordinarily tall, maybe a head or more taller than you. Your head came shoulder height, and that’s where he puts you. He pulls you into him, doing more with a simple action than words could convey. He held you there as you swallowed back more tears.

Mando’s hand rubbed the back of your head, clumsily, hesitantly… like he’s not familiar with the movement. You stay there, absorbing the comfort he was providing. You reach your arms up and wrap them around his waist and control your breathing as his hand continued to stroke your hair and back. It felt so good, so comforting. He doesn’t move away and neither do you. Two people who have lost seeking comfort in the presence of one another.

The ship lurches suddenly, alarms blaring and you and Mando hit the floor, you on top of him, banging your head on his beskar chest plate. “Ow!” The ship rolls again, sending you both rolling. You’re on top of Mando again, in a compromised position… Your legs on either side of his torso, you’re face chest crushed to his as his arm around you prevents you from flying elsewhere. Gods you hope your face isn’t red!

Alarms blare again and the ship shakes. You and Mando come to the realization at once.

“THE KID!”

* * *

The ship was saved just in time from the little kamikaze pilot. Mando and you exchanged a look and agreed the baby was never allowed in the control panel unsupervised ever again. After the excitement wore off, you excused yourself to go toil away in your forge for a while. Talking about Cassian to Mando left you with an odd feeling of comradely. You barely knew anything about one another and now there’s a little less mystery between you two. There was still a lot to uncover about the mysterious Mandalorian. Today was the first step of many, and as much as the conversation drudged up painful memories, you’re glad it happened.

You lit up your forge, put on your goggles and turned to the work at hand.

* * *

Everyone is getting a little sir crazy on this ship… It had been weeks since the job with Ran, and weeks before that since you last breathed fresh air and felt earth beneath your feet. Breathing in recycled air for over a month ain’t it.

The baby was feeling it too; he was fussy and cranky and even with your infinite patience when it comes to the little womp rat you were at the end of your rope. You took the little jerk to Mando and thrust him into his arms, “We need off this ship for a bit. He’s driving me nuts.” You open Mando’s hologram map and ping through it, looking for anything that could offer a rest bit. Mando placed the fussing kid in his pram and closed it, “What’s gotten into him?”

“Same thing as me. We need to stretch our legs and get off the ship for a bit.” You look at him, “Don’t tell me you haven’t felt a little cabin fever yourself?”

Mando shrugs, “You got a place in mind?” he watches you move through the map to explore the mid rim. You were looking for a planet not governed by any government. In your own travels you heard of a planet that many went to for a break, a vacation if you will. You asked Mando if he heard of a place like that.

“That sounds like Takodana.” 

Yes that was it. “Can we go hang out there for some R&R? Think it would be safe for the kid?”

Mando looked at the map a few moments longer and nodded, “It’s far enough off normal commute that I’ll feel fine spending some time there. “

YES! Fresh air and water! Nature! You missed watching sunsets and sunrises. It would be nice for some exercise. You’re feeling a little slow. You and Mando agree to go over some sparring and training sessions when you land. You hold back your excitement as to not seem too eager. To learn from a Mandalorian would be an opportunity you could not pass up…. And it would be fun to blow off some steam and get sweaty.

“How soon can we be there?”

Mando entered calculations on his control panel and put the ship into hyperdrive. “We’ll arrive in 3 hours.”

“Have you been to Takodana before?” You’ve never been there, only heard stories. Seemed like a nice oasis in the middle of a forest.

Mando sat back in his captain chair, propping and ankle over a knee, “A few times, though it’s been a few years. When I was first starting out I would get my jobs from Maz’s palace, not Nevarro.” \

At your confused look, Mando clarified, “The ‘waterhole’ on Takodana is run by Maz Kanata, she’s 1,000 years old and has run that place like her own city for almost as long. Maz stopped allowing bounties to be hunted on her land and hunters took their business elsewhere, myself included. If she’s kept up her sanctuary it would be a good place for us to lay low and relax for a bit.”

You nod, “Perfect.” You look at the pram and listened… No sound emitted from the little cradle. Kid finally tired himself out. Thank the Gods…

“How long have you been a bounty hunter?” You ask as you both watch the stars streak by in a blur. You love watching when the ship drove in hyperdrive. The view was astounding. Nothing made you feel so small as space and the stars around you. No one knew how far space extended. That was true infinite. If one thought about it too long, they would go insane trying to comprehend the multi-universes and galaxies. You pulled yourself away from that line of thought. You didn’t want to go mad.

“Hmm… I’d say 19 years… give or take a few. I don’t remember how old I was when the Mandalorians took me in as a foundling. Or how long I trained with them before they sent me off on my own. You?” Mando wasn’t as old as you had estimated. You knew he had some years on you experience wise, now it was confirmed. You thought it was interesting.

“10 years… got into the bounty hunting business from my Dad. He didn’t have sons so I was the next best thing.” You told Mando how pissed your mom got when she found you and dad behind the hut shooting at scrap metal. Dad was proud, “You a born natural!” He’d exclaimed examining the holes you made in all the targets. He was so happy. He was your idol and you had made him proud. “When Dad came home from missions he would debrief with me, seeing if I would’ve done anything differently and would give me scenarios for me to think out. I took my first job at 18 and was accepted into the Guild right after.”

"In Mando'a we have a saying... _'Mishuk gotal’u meshuroke, pako kyore'_ which translates to 'Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger.'" You roll the unfamiliar words around in your mouth. You like the phrase...

“Who was your father, if you don’t mind me asking?” Mando took his attention away from the screen to focus on you. “You’ve spoken of him before. It’s a small profession and many have run into one another at some point.”

Maybe he’s heard of him… He had a very weird name.

“My father was Boba… Boba Fett.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I decided to go this route because of a fan theory I saw. Boba Fett didn’t die when he fell into the Sarlacc. They only found his armor with acid stains on it. No bones, no nothing. So he is dear old pops that taught you everything you know. Also, I had written this before the new Boba Fett update with him being in the new season of the Mandalorian. But follow my storyline for now.
> 
> Additionally, the Mandalorian takes place shortly after the events of The Return of the Jedi, and starts when Ben Solo (Kylo Ren) is four years old. So it could be believed that many characters can intersect in the Mandalorian timeline.
> 
> This chapter was difficult for me to write. Child loss is without a doubt the worst thing I can think of. I lost my baby girl before she was born, so I pulled some of the feeling into my writing. Writing has been very therapeutic for me. Some of you will now understand why the reader is so good with baby Yoda.
> 
> My heart reaches out to each and every one of you that has been through loss. Big hugs.


	9. Takodana

Chapter 9

Takodana

_Recap_

_“Who was your father, if you don’t mind me asking?” Mando took his attention away from the screen to focus on you. “You’ve spoken of him before. It’s a small profession and many have run into one another at some point.”_

_Maybe he’s heard of him… He had a weird name._

_“My father was Boba… Boba Fett.”_

* * *

The change in Mando was instant; you had never seen him so still.

“Mando? You… You good?” You get up and kneel in front of him, reaching a hand to shake his shoulder, “Hey?!”

He grabbed your arm and looked at you. You peer into his visor, “What the hell man? Are you alright?”

“Boba…Fett is your father?” He said hoarsely. Damn Dad did your reputation extend this fucking far? You pull your arm away from Mando’s grip, “Yeah, what of it?”

“You’re… a Fett?”

You frowned, “Um… Well my dad is a Fett so… yeah?”

Mando seemed confused by your blasé attitude.

“You are the daughter of one of the most well-known bounty hunters in the galaxy,” Mando elucidated, “How do you not know of his reputation?”

You shrug, “I always thought he was exaggerating.” Dad was a bit of a braggart. You didn’t believe half of the things he’s said. You never expected a reaction like this from Mando. You never knew that Dad was as well-known as he had let on. Growing up it was all stories to entertain you…

Now…

“He wasn’t exaggerating was he?” You would literally kill to see the look on Mando’s face right now. You had never seen him so at a loss for words. You never thought your dad was serious. Yeah many people knew your father, Greef Karga included. From Mando’s reaction, you now start to believe Dad’s ‘tall tales.’

“Did you know my Dad? Or did you know of him?”

“I knew him… he and I did a job or two when I was new to the Guild years ago.” You contained your surprise and sat back in the co-pilot chair, waving your hand for Mando to continue.

“He wore Mandalorian armor… but didn’t abide by the creed.”

You nod. “He liked the armor; the style, the durability. He and his father, Jango, customized it to fit their needs, but they had no interest in the religion” You looked up at Mando, “No offense, Dad wasn’t the type to adhere to any rule of life.” You wave at Mando to continue, “I want to hear more.” You plead, “You know more about me than I do about you. Tell me the jobs you did with my Dad.” You urge, excited to hear of Mando’s and your Dad’s exploits.

Mando shook his head, “I still can’t believe your Fett’s daughter... Yeah I’ll tell you.”

Mando launches into a story and you sat back, letting Mando’s words paint a picture in your mind. He tells of working together with Boba Fett to capture an infamous crime lord in the outer rim that was responsible for the interplanetary sex trafficking ring of humans and Twi-leks. The one who had put out the bounty was a Senator whose daughter had been kidnapped. Mando met Fett in Canto Bight and discovered they were after the same guy. They joined forces and found the crime lord. It wasn’t a smooth job. They destroyed half the tables at the casino and were almost arrested by the New Republic before they were able to apprehend the bounty and spirit him away. Boba Fett and Mando turned in their bounty to the Senator, “We had barely left the room before we heard the fucker screaming.” Mando laughed under his breath.

Cool

“Since Boba Fett is your Dad… was your Mom another bounty hunter?”

You laugh. NOW you really wish you could see his face, “No. The rumor was my Dad met my Mom when she was one of Jabba the Hutt’s dancers.”

Mando started coughing. You bent over laughing watching Mando beat his chest plate trying to catch his breath. You could not contain your mirth. You had a similar reaction when you heard that rumor for the first time when you first became a bounty hunter. Mom and Dad never admitted to it, no matter how hard you pressed them.

You wiped the tears out of your eyes and cough, “My family wasn’t normal.”

“I-I can see that!” Mando laughs as he attempts to regain his baring. He has a very nice laugh, distorted as it was by his modulator. You wonder what it would sound like… his pure unmodified laugh… You laugh with him, “C’mon let me hear the other one!’

You tried to hide your disappointment when Mando shook his head and said, “I’ll save that for another night.”

You pout, “Fine. I’ll hold you to that.” You look at the window, “I’m gonna go take a shower before we land. You okay with the kid?”

He looks over at the silent pram, “Yeah I can handle him.” He opens it and peers at the sleeping kid before closing it again.

“He’s lucky to have you here. I can’t handle him as well as you.” You blush at the praise.

“You do a great job Daddy Mando.”

* * *

Takodana is fucking beautiful! Holy stars it’s so green! You stare in awe as the Razor Crest coasts in to land among the lush green forest. Trees extend as far as your eyes could see… This was heaven for sure.

“Sorgan doesn’t have shit on this place,” you say out loud to yourself watching the green sweep underneath the ship.

“Yeah it’s really something.” Mando agrees. Even the kid is quiet watching the view from the window. You wonder how many planets the little beast has seen since he was born? Created? Manufactured?

A huge stone palace is visible before you land. Mando informs you that’s Maz Kanata’s watering hole. A sanctuary for all kind. You grab the kid and prepare to disembark when Mando finally lands the behemoth.

The hatch opens and pure fresh wet air floods throughout the ship. Oh glory! You almost feel silly with how giddy you feel walking onto the planet’s earth. Solid ground.

You and Mando agree to keep the kid in the pram when you go to Maz’s place. Mando doesn’t know how much it changed in the past years since he’s visited and with bounty hunters after the baby you both felt it would be the safest route. You put on a modified version of your rig: one blaster and your shockdart.

“Ready?”

You nod, “Let’s go.”

Maz’s place was much bigger when you stood at the entrance. Even from outside you could hear the music and the smell of food cooking making your mouth water. The door slid open for you and you stepped inside.

Oh heavens yesssss

Maz’s place was pleasantly crowded. Light happy music came from a hodgepodge group of musicians in the corner. A group of gamblers played at scattered tables throughout the place. A beast was roasting over an open fire in the middle of the room and bartenders handed out drink after drink to the thirsty patrons.

You nudge Mando, “Did we crash? Because I must be in heaven!”

Mando nudged you back, “C’mon, let’s get a table.”

The kid was cooing happily the visual stimulation… more than he’s had in weeks. Mando picked a spot in the corner, a great place for him to keep eyes on everyone and on the main entrance. Never have your back to a door: that was one of the main lessons your Dad taught you when you first started out. That and stay out of doorways… those are the funnel of death. Any time you go into a room, identify an exit strategy. The list goes on and on.

“Which one is Maz?” You ask, looking around trying to spot someone that looks to be 1,000 years old. 

“MANDO!”

Mando groaned, “That one.”

A short orange female pushed her way through the crowd to your table. For as short as she is, Maz gives off an impressive presence.

“Nice to see you Maz.”

She peered at Mando through huge spectacles, “It’s been awhile Mando. What brings you to my neck of the woods? Not a bounty I hope…” She glared at him, “You know my rule.”

Mando shook his head, “No Maz, no bounty, just wanted a break from traveling and decided to come visit.”

She nodded, seeming satisfied with Mando's answer. She looks at you and the kid; you reach a hand over and introduce yourself, “Love the aesthetic of the place.” You say appreciatively.

Maz pats your hand, “Thank you sweetie.” She looks over and winks at Mando, “You got yourself a looker here.”

Your face turns bright red, “We’re not-“

“She’s my partner.” Mando finishes.

Maz looks back at you and you nod, “Yep, partners.”

“Hm.” Maz doesn’t look convinced and doesn’t bother to hide it, “Ok ‘partner’ what can I get you?”

You look over to the bar and the roasting meat, “A plate of whatever that wonderful smell is, a glass of wine, and a small plate of meat for this little womprat.” You nod to the kid.

“What is he? I haven’t seen his like before.” Maz asks curiously, adjusting her spectacles making her eyes magnify to an astonishing size.

You shrug, “We don’t know. We found him, and decided to take him with us. So ugly he’s cute right?” The lie slips easily off your tongue as you had practiced.

Maz nods and looks to Mando knowingly, “Anything for you? I know your ways. There’s a locked room you can go to eat.” You were surprised by the care afforded to Mando. He looked ready to refuse but you broke in, “That would be great, you can enjoy your food while it’s warm for once.”

You feel Mando’s eyes boring into you as Maz breaks away to get your order.

“What?” You meet his metallic glare, “She has accommodations.”

When he didn’t say anything you roll your eyes, “C’mon, eat. It would allow me to enjoy my meal as well without feeling guilty you couldn’t partake.” You explain honestly. You couldn’t eat together so this is the next best thing.

Mando huffs behind his helmet and you shoot him a look, “It’s the first fresh meal you’ve had in ages, don’t bitch too much.”

You turn your attention to the patrons and breathe in the atmosphere, feeling elated. You wanted to go mingle and take a turn at the game tables but held back. First food then fun. You stay on the alert though, looking closely at some unsavory characters. You know it’s frowned upon outside of the hunter community, but profiling has kept you alive this far. You didn’t see any actions of note, but didn’t fully relax. Maz’s place was a well-kempt establishment you observed. Everyone didn’t overstep boundaries or rough housed. You look to Mando for explanation.

“Maz gives one warning. One and done.”

Interesting, “Done as in…?”

Mando holds him hand like a gun.

“Noted.” Maz is a strict queen of her palace.

Maz shows up with the food… you try not to drool on the table. Maz sets the food down and motions for Mando, “Follow me.”

Mando looks to you and you wave him off, “Go, I’ll feed the little beast.” You say as you and the kid tuck in. He hesitates and Maz helps you by grabbing his arm and forcefully drags the Mandalorian away.

The kid finishes the meal before you do! And the little shit was still hungry. You fed him more from your plate. Gods this food was amazing! After eating preserved meals for so long you enjoyed the taste of fresh prepared food. You finish and relax against your seat, sipping from your wine as you eye the gaming tables. The chair moves beside you and Mando takes his seat.

“That food was awesome.”

He agrees, looking at the kid as you wiped the grease off the beast’s almost non-existent chin. The kid was sated, looking drowsy already. Mando and you watch as he leaned back and falls fast asleep in front of your eyes. Mando closes the pram as you laugh quietly, “Kid fed and asleep… couldn’t have planned it better myself.” You glance over to the game tables and back at Mando.

His turn to wave you off, “Go, I’ll watch him.”

You flash him a grin and go join the fray. You missed being social with like-minded people and let loose. The job you did for Ran still left your pockets heavy but you were conscious not to let yourself get carried away. When the tables weren’t going your way you pulled yourself out. You had fun joking with others as you cheered and booed the bad throw of the unlucky dice. You looked over at Mando often and always caught him keeping an eye on you. Each time you would flash him a grin, a little upset that he couldn’t join you at the tables due to watching the kid. But would he though if there wasn’t the kid? He doesn’t strike you as a game player. You caught yourself gazing at him too long and tear yourself away back to the game.

Maz meandered through her customers checking on everyone and making sure glasses were always filled. You limited yourself to two drinks and after that you declined her offers.

After your recent refusal for a top off, Maz motions for you to lean down to her level. You oblige her and she take your ear in a quick hand, “Female to female,” She whispers conspiratorially, “I’ve seen many females try to get half the attention the Mandalorian gives you and get snubbed. He likes you girl… he’s just too stiff to act on it!”

You make to pull away before Maz could see how flushed your face is at her words but she holds firm to your ear like a vice, “Ahhhh… you too.” She chuckles knowingly.

She holds you fast as she whispers, “Bounty hunting… is a Com-pli-cated profession.” She enunciates her words and releases your ear. You stand straight and look at her. She winks and pats your hip before she moves off, “You know I’m right.” That little busy body!

You pray your face isn’t beat red! You don’t turn to Mando for worry he witnessed that little exchange. You find your way to the sanctuary’s refresher and lock the door behind you.

Fuck

You look up and see your face is as red as sunburn. You splash cool sink water on your face in hopes it would bring your temperature down. Maz’s words repeat in your head, making it impossible for you to gain your composure. First Peli, now Maz?!

What is with the women you meet making you think this way?! You groan and splash your face again. Mando is your partner, he took you on as an asset to him and the kid, there’s nothing else involved, you are in your emotions, you need to stop, this needs to stop. Your thoughts ramble on. He’s never expressed any interest in you that would warrant you to feel this way.

You had two glasses of wine. This could be the alcohol talking… maybe?

You take a deep breath and straighten. You look in the mirror and fix your hair and your face. You prim yourself to look pristine before you leave the refresher, a lighthearted smile plastered on your face as you go to the next table to observe the game.

The hair prickles on the back of your neck... someone is watching you. You looked at Mando, he was talking to Maz. It wasn’t him. This was different and you knew it. You turn back to the game but the feeling remained. You kept your hand dangling close to your blaster as you watched the games around you. You glanced around the room… Others were enjoying their games and food… You couldn’t see anyone paying attention to you or your area. After a few minutes the feeling faded. It was strange.

After two games, you return to your table. You can’t leave Mando with the kid the whole evening. Maz had left and Mando watched as you approached.

“Little beast still asleep?” You ask in what you hope was a light hearted tone.

Mando looks past you to the gaming tables teaming with players, “Yeah. Having fun?” He turns his helm to you. You nod and look towards the tables, “Is there anyone here you recognize?” You ask, maybe he knew someone and that’s why you felt someone’s eyes on you.

Mando’s demeanor changed, he looked back at the tables, “Why?”

“I felt like I was being watched… it was while you were talking to Maz.” You say, watching him scan the crowd, “It could be nothing, but I definitely felt it.” You trust your instincts.

“I don’t see anyone I know,” Mando says after he studies the patrons closely, “Someone may have been… just looking at… an attractive female.” You look back at Mando. Did he just say what you think he said? You feel yourself blushing. Mando shrugs and looks back at you.

“Hm you could be right.” You brush it off.

“Are you feeling alright?” Mando asks, looking you up and down, “Your body temperature is higher than normal.”

And it probably just spiked again at his words. How much can his damn helmet detect!

You blinked, “Um… the excitement? And it is warm in here isn’t it?” You fan yourself with your hand and hoping it convinces him.

“Hmm.” You couldn’t identify the look Mando was giving you… as expressive he could be without seeing his face, you were still left in the dark.

You stood up, “Y-you ready to go?”

Mando nods, “After you.” he stands and follows you out of Maz place, nodding to Maz as you both left. You avoid Maz’s eyes even as you felt her gaze on you all the way to the door.

“Come back soon!” She calls after you.

The walk back to the ship was quiet. The sound of you steps unnaturally loud in contrast to the dark quiet forest around you. You both walk in silence for a few minutes before Mando breaks the silence.

“Um… so are you wanting to train tomorrow morning?”

“Yeah!” You agree too quickly and clear your throat, “Um, sure.” You had talked about training together and you looked forward to it.

You arrive at the Crest and separate to your own rooms after putting the child in his cubby. You hesitate at your door and look at Mando going into his. He looks back at you, “Goodnight” he says softly.

“G’night.” You reply with a small smile. The door slides close behind you.

Later, you had to shove your fist into your mouth to muffle your cries as you cum imagining Mando going down on you. His hot mouth sealed over your pussy, lavishing it with long strokes of his tongue. His tongue teasing your clit, blowing puffs of air onto it and dipping his long thick finger inside you, and out, and in, bringing you to ecstasy as you came hard around his fingers. Gods Gods Gods! You breathe shallowly as you came down from your high. The last few times you had pleasured yourself imagining Mando had not been that intense. Fuck… you sigh, feeling the heaviness of sleep that usually follows your climax.

You need sleep… You have training in the morning…

* * *

You awake to loud banging on your bedroom door, “Time to get up. Meet outside ready to go.” Mando’s voice carries through the room. You groan as you rub the sleep from your eyes. That’s right… you had agreed to train with Mando. You force yourself to get up and into appropriate attire, knowing you were going to regret this. You were getting soft… that fight with Xi’an proved it. You need to keep up with your skills before your next mistake ends up being your last.

Outside Mando was in full armor, as per usual, you don’t know why you expected any different. The kid was in his floating pram, looking content to observe. You stretch and glance around, “What are we doing first?”

Mando points, “We’ll run for a warm up, target practice and then finish with sparring.” Sounds great.

“Let’s go!”

The first mile was rough as you knew it was going to be. The kid followed behind in his pram, keeping up with you and Mando. Mando seemed to have no problem running in full armor… and you were in light clothing with no restrictions. Mile two came and went, then three… then four. You were drenched but kept up with Mando with difficulty. You didn’t want to fall behind. The urge to stay up with him, to not fall behind, to impress him made you dig deep and keep going.

Mando leads the way back to the Razor Crest and you stop yourself from sobbing in relief and force yourself to act unfazed when you come to a halt and walk in a circle to cool down. You breathe in through your nose and out your mouth to control your breathing. Mando stretches out his legs and you spare a peek at his bent over backside before you snap your eyes away before he could see another spike in your body temperature. Down girl.

You grab your blaster and watch as Mando sets up targets at random distances and heights. You smile to yourself. He was about to see how good of a shot you are.

“What’s the exercise?”

He points and explains, “Timed drills.” He punches buttons on his wrist. You hear a BEEP and then two seconds later a higher pitched BEEP. Two second timed intervals. Ok.

“Same target or different ones?”

“Try to hit two different targets within the two second time limit. We will do that 3 times, each one a different target.” You nod and ready yourself in the neutral pose; your hands clasped in front of you with your blaster holstered. You needed to draw your blaster, aim, shoot, aim, shoot. In two seconds.

“Ready?” Mando assumes a similar stance.

“Ready.”

BEEP

You draw your blaster, fire, aim, fire, holster.

_BEEP!_

You exhale and look at Mando. He still had his hand on his blaster in the holster when you had already reassumed neutral position. You had won on time… but what about aim?

You both step forward to see your targets. You hit center on both. So had he.

“Nice.” Mando acknowledges, “You got me on time. Good work.”

You preen under his praise, “One out of three, you still have a chance to beat me.”

Mando laughs under his breath, “So modest.” You laugh as you head back to the firing line.

This time you run through the exercise without checking targets. You felt very confident when you go examine your targets…

Your shots were better than Mando’s. Hell yeah.

“Wow, you are good.” Mando admires openly, “I honestly thought you would be good, but not this good.” Not every man admits defeat when it comes to females. Mando admitting it without attitude made you like him that much more… if that was possible.

“It’s one of my hobbies along with forging.” You shrug, “Want to shoot some more or go to sparring?”

“More target practice, I need to improve apparently.” You hear the amusement in his voice.

You spent the next thirty minutes shooting with random timed drills. It became a friendly competition between you two and you enjoyed it immensely! The kid coos and giggles watching you both, fully entertained by the spectacle. After a while you both put up your blasters and face one another.

“Now for our sparring session.” Mando announces, beginning to circle you.

You crack your knuckles and shake out your arms, your heart rate jumping with the adrenalin of the impending match.

“What are the rules?” You ask, eyeing him as you match his pace, sizing each other up.

“There are no rules-”

You dart at him, reaching out to grab his cape to yank him off balance. He twists, avoiding your grasp and swings out a leg to sweep yours out from under you. You leapt, avoiding his attempt and fainted to the side, jabbing your fist into his side; scoring the first hit. He rounds on you, his right arm coming across in a haymaker which you duck underneath and roll away to avoid another blow from his left.

With distance between you, you formulate a plan and instead of coming at Mando, you wait for him to come to you. He advances, taking a step forward into your reach. You wait for him to make his move… he doesn’t. You watch him carefully, anticipating his next move. What was he going for…- He moves.

Mando comes at you head on and faints to the side as you thrust your fist at him. He ends up behind you, grabbing you in a bear hug from behind. One arm wrapped around your middle, lifting you off the ground, his other hand held like a gun pressing into your temple.

“You got distracted.” His voice rumbles in your ear. You flush… angry and turned on at the same time.

“I can’t win at everything.” You grin.

You drop your weight, dropping yourself out of his grip as you grab his arm with both hands. You bend over anchoring yourself and bucking him over your shoulder with your hips and arm strength. The beskar metal hurt scraping over your shoulder as he went over. He was on his back when you landed on top of him, straddling him between your thighs, one hand held like a gun, pointing into the visor of his helmet.

You smile at him underneath you and lift your finger gun to your lips and blow off the tip, “You got distracted.”

What Mando does next sends you reeling.

Mando bucks his hips to the side, throwing you off balance and sends you onto your back with him landing on top of you. Your thighs were still on either side of his waist, he pins your wrists to the ground over your head as he looms over you, his body encasing yours.

You froze.

Your awareness of his body this close to yours made your heart hammer in your chest. You could feel the blood rising to your face… and settling low in your belly. You were both breathing hard. His breath rasped loudly through his modulator. He didn’t move… he just stayed there, looking at you underneath him. Then one of Mando’s hands leaves your wrist and trials down your forearm… your bicep… down the side of your torso, leaving a trail of fire in its wake until his hand rests on your waist.

Mando’s hands tighten causing you to inhale sharply. You could see your reflection in his visor, looking into your own eyes as your body betrays all sense and arches up into him as he squeezed your waist. Mando exhales loudly and you feel his hips push in between your thighs.

Oh Gods… This wasn’t your imaginings.

This is real.

Mando’s other hand tightens on your wrist and a strangled baritone groan rumbles through his modulator, making your lower belly clench in anticipation. This wasn’t some defense tactical move… was it? His large gloved hand trails from your waist to your hip, over your ass and tighten over your thigh posted over his hip… You heart hammers in your chest .

Then as soon as it all started, it ended.

You love the kid… you really do. But at that moment you wish he wasn’t there. The little beast starts crying, interrupting whatever had been happening. Mando is shaken out of it and pulls away off of you and stands. You could still feel the ghost of his grip on you and force yourself to roll to the side and stand. You go to the kid and pick him out of the pram. You wish you could make him go to sleep instantly so you could return to what he interrupted but the moment was gone. Awkward silence hung in the air like a fog. The only sound being the kids cries and sniffles.

_You little cockblocker…_ There was nothing wrong with him. He just got bored.

You turn to Mando, “Uh… I’m gonna take him inside. Put him down for a nap.” You turn away and take the kid inside without giving Mando a chance to reply. What do you do?! Acknowledge it happened?! Pretend it didn’t?! Shit what do you do?!

“You little jerk.” You hissed to the kid as you place him in his cubby, still sniffling. He stands there reaching up to you to pick him up. “No..” You groan, petting his head softly. “It’s nap time little guy.” You coo to him. You grab his doll and tickle his nose with it until he grabs it away. You stand back and before he could attempt another adorable maneuver to tug your heart strings you close the cubby and wait.

And wait.

And wait.

No noise emitted from the cubby so you backed away quietly and head outside. What do you say when you see him, “Okay best out of three?” Make a joke out of it? Address it head on? Did you think it was more than what it was? You weren’t a young girl anymore crushing over a guy, you were an adult woman… and crushing over a guy. You are thinking into this way too much. Get your shit together dammit.

Outside you are met with silence… no Mando.

You walk around the ship and listen… you couldn’t see or hear him…

“Mando?” You call out and wait.

Was he setting up for more drills?

Did he… run away? You frown as you search around again with the same results. Where is he? Did he just leave?

After a few minutes you sit down on the ramp… confused and frustrated… in more ways than one. You groan and rub your face. Where the fuck did he go?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> No Han Solo is not Cassian's father.  
>   
> Thank you for the love I got on the last chapter, it means more to me than you could ever know.  
> I know readers are looking at the tags and wondering when the content is coming...  
> SOON. Like... SOOOOOON.  
> 


	10. In the dark

Chapter 10

In the dark

The day came and went with no sign of the Mandalorian. You didn’t hear from him nor did he leave a note stating where he went or when he would be back.

You continued to do blaster drills on your own and curse yourself for your poor shots. Fuck! This is too much right now. You decide to retire and go shower and change.

The sun sets and still no sign of Mando.

Did he tell you that he had errands to run and you weren’t paying attention? No… you would’ve remembered. You tried to come up with a logical explanation for Mando’s absence.

Did you scare him away? Was a line crossed? You remembered the feeling of his hands on you and the noises he made… he was turned on. That much you were sure of. Maz’s voice popped into your head, “He likes you girl… he’s just too stiff to act on it.” Was that it?

Before you dismissed it entirely you allowed yourself to dwell on the thought. If he actually did like you… how would that work? He cannot have anyone see his face; if he did he wouldn’t be able to re-assume his identity as a Mandalorian. You would never see his face. You’ve been living together for months. He knew your history and that situation still happened instead of your history scaring him off.

Cassian’s father had balked at the knowledge of Boba Fett being your father but that didn’t deter him from creating Cassian, albeit unplanned… You thought about Cassian’s father and scoffed. You were young, you were dumb… But he was handsome and had that charisma you found so charming. Too bad he was a pussy when it came to man up and take responsibility. In the end it was for the best. You still didn’t know if he had ever been taken in as someone’s bounty to the Hutts. After him… you had trysts with men that you found interesting enough to share your bed but never enough to form a relationship.

Mando had known your father and had worked with him in the past. His hand gripping your thigh, groaning through his helm… You blinked and shook yourself out of it. You needed to keep a level head. But the throbbing between your legs has made it difficult to think with anything beyond single minded intent.

Embarrassed at your own urges, you had attempted to take care of the problem. It was almost an hour before you had given up. You could not cum. You gave up, frustrated beyond belief. Where the fuck was Mando? Where had he gone? Why was he gone this long? When/ If was he coming back?

* * *

Later that night you lay in your bed cleaning your blasters when you heard the ships ramp slide down. You sat up in bed, quickly reassembling your blaster and primed it. You go to your door and listen trying to pick up any sound. You held your blaster at the low ready, prepared to open the door and confront the intruder. You heard heavy footsteps ascending the ramp. You recognized Mando’s footsteps and breathe a sigh of relief. The door was thick but you’re able to pick up the sound of him walking to the cubby. You hear the cubby door slide open, and then back down a moment a later. He had checked on the kid.

You hold your breath, trying to decide what you were going to do. You were about to open the door, deciding to go and talk to him when you heard the refresher shower turn on.

Confrontation has such a negative connotation… you just wanted to talk to him. He had left suddenly and without notice… he was gone all day. You had no idea if something had happened to him. You trusted him and knew he would have never left you alone with the kid and his ship without a damn good reason.

You deserve answers.

You pace your room as you listened to the pipes groan from the shower.

It shuts off. You hear the refresher door open and another door open and close.

He was in his room.

You paced your room trying to think of how you were going to go talk to him. Every idea you discard as being too confrontational, too weak, too submissive… Fucking hell.

You jump up and down shaking your arms out like you were getting ready for a fight. You stopped and groaned, Get it together woman! You were going to ask “Hey, what happened earlier? You left without a word? Everything ok?” And then leave it to him to answer. Plain and simple. Good plan.

You open the door and cross the hall to Mando’s room and before you could stop yourself you knocked twice, “Mando?”

The door slides open.

You look at his helm… and down.

You blink.

His torso was bare… your gaze drifts down to the damp towel wrapped around his waist. His room was dark, the only light coming from the light in your open room. The distinguished pectoral and abdominal muscles were covered in a fine coat of dark curly hair…a light sheen of damp still clung to him. Your wandering eyes drift further… was it inappropriate to see a Mandalorian’s bare calves and feet? Were you allowed to witness a display of flesh such as this?

You snap your gaze back up to his visor… and swallow.

“You left.”

Two words… out of the thousands you wanted to say to him… those were the only two you could fit together?! The sight of him had frozen the words in your mouth. He had opened his door, had known it was you on the other side. … He knew it was you and he opened his door for you to see him like this…

When he didn’t answer you, you stepped forward “Why? You left without a word…” He remained silent, his gaze lingering on you. You could hear his breath rasp through his modulator. It was louder than normal.

You take another step closer, closing the gap between you, “Why, Mando?”

He gives no indication he heard you. Once again, you’re close enough to see your reflection in his helmet. You see how worried you look and wipe it away. Now was not the time for uncertainty. You need to meet this head on. You weren’t going to give him a chance to run away from it this time.

“I know you felt it too…” You say steadily even as you felt your heart hammering against your ribs. You take another step closer.

“Answer me.” You whisper.

Mando snatches you out of the hallway by your arm and slams you against the wall of his room next to the doorway. You gasp when your back connected with the wall. Mando hovers over you, his hands braced on the wall on either side of your head. Ragged breaths emanate from his modulator, the only sound in the room. You could barely see him, the light from the hall dimly outlined his frame like a painting. This was a standoff… if he won’t make a move… you would.

“If you won’t answer me…”

You reach forward and place a hand on his bare chest. He goes rigid under your touch. You move your fingers through his chest hair until it rests over his heart. The muscle beneath your palm pounds like a stampede. If you could laugh right now you would, but your heart was beating equally as hard.

Mando groaned your name… the baritone syllables echoing through the air and straight to that aching spot low in your core. Stars you were already wet and he hasn’t touched you. You step into him, “Mando-“  
He covers your hand with his. His large strong fingers curling over yours where it rests on his chest.

“I-I want you…so bad.” His statement hits you right at that delicious throbbing heat between your legs. His admission makes you dizzy with want. You swallow, “You have me-“

Mando shuts the bedroom door, plunging the room into absolute darkness. Your eyes couldn’t adjust without any presence of light. It was a black hole of a room. You couldn’t tell if your eyes were opened or closed. Mando’s body thrusts towards yours, his hand trailing down your side, touching, caressing, gripping your flesh in his large hands. He groans as he grinds his hard bulge between your legs, rubbing that spot that literally wept for his touch. You whimper and sigh when he grinds against you. You reach down between you, touching the towel wrapped around his waist, and stuck your fingers beneath the band and pulled it off.

If he had any composure left… it was gone with the first touch of your skin on his when he took your hand and practically thrust it onto himself.

_“F-uck,”_ Mando’s gritted baritone rumbles through his modulator.

“ _Gods,”_ You gasp, curling your fingers around his throbbing thick cock. You explore the texture of him, every vein and ridge… you rub a thump over his tip, spreading the precum beading from him.

“Fuck- you’re-“ Mando moans hoarsely as you laid open mouth kisses on his chest and pumped your hand over him, “I-I can’t be ge-ntle…”

“I don’t want gentle.” You wanted to be fucked within an inch of your life.

Mando huffs a laugh and you feel his hands grab your shirt and pull it over your head. You regretfully let go of that wonderful extension of his to raise your arms to allow him to remove your shirt. You reach behind you to unwrap your breast-band. Mando hooked his thumbs in your waistband and pulled that and your underthings down. You felt him halt and hold your breath. You couldn’t see him but could feel his heat. He could see you… that visor of his seeing you completely bare before him. You could feel his gaze burning along your body. You hold your hands to your side, unsure what to do with them or where to put them in this darkness.

Thick fingers part your folds, startling you at the sudden sensation. Mando eased your legs apart with his knees as he knelt on the ground before you. You brace your arms behind you, holding yourself up on the wall as his fingers tease the cleft of your thighs. You feel him run a finger over your slit, collecting your slick and rubbing the folds there with experimental touches. “Mmm” He swirls a thumb over your clit, causing you to jerk and moan at the sensation, “Unh… Mando.” You protest when he removes his touch, leaving you shaking for more stimulation.

_“You’re s-so wet…”_ He mutters to himself, “ _Gods look at you… so beautiful.”_

A muffled metallic clang… and then-

You cry out when warm wet heat seals itself over your mound. You see stars when you feel Mando’s tongue move between your folds and twirl around your clit in soft flutters. He doesn’t have his helmet on! You buck against his mouth, wanting more of the sensation as he explores that very intimate part of you with that wonderful tongue. You reach down, groaning as your fingers run through thick wavy hair and pull him closer into where you want his attentions. Mando growls at your touch, causing you to buck with the vibrations. With your sense of sight gone, every sensation felt magnified. Everything revolved around that hot pulsating heat between your legs. You didn’t have a thought for anything else.

Without taking his mouth off you, Mando maneuvers your thighs over his shoulders. Cradling your back in his hands he lifts you off the ground. The thought of where was he taking you barely registers before he thumps you onto his bed as he resumes his torturous ministrations.

Mando’s hands thrusts your thighs apart, pushing your knees to your chest to provide him with better access. He tastes you slowly, licking every crevice and ridge, humming and sighing like a man enjoying the best meal of his life. His tongue flattens against you as he licks a wide band over your cunt, flicking your clit at the apex. You could not stay still, the pleasure coursing through you was more than you could have ever imagined.

“Gods… M-Mando pl-please don’t stop aaahhh please don’t stop!” You grip his head between your thighs, wondering vaguely if you were hurting him by pulling his hair. That thought flew from your head when the Mandalorian sinks two thick fingers deep inside your cunt. You almost jerk off the bed, letting out a strangled cry as he leaves them gently curling inside you as his tongue swirls patterns over your clit. The thickness of his fingers were almost too much for you to handle, the faint burning of your skin stretching to accommodate the intrusions was overshadowed when those amazing digits curled against the bundle of nerves inside you. You felt your climax building with every lick and curl and vibration. Mando seals his lips around your clit, humming as he began sucking on it. You couldn’t last like this!

“Oh –fuck” You breathe, feeling that fierce pressure building higher and higher, “-Man-do I’m g-g’na cum!”

Mando pulls his fingers out and you sob with loss before he thrusts them back in, fucking you with his thick digits, “Cum for me!” He orders and curls his fingers against that inner nerve. The command, mixed with hearing his real voice for the first time… sent you hurtling off the edge.

An impossible pleasure shredded through you. Your cries tear from your throat as every muscle in your body convulses. Your throbbing walls gripping Mando’s fingers as he continued to thrust them in and out, dragging you through the strongest climax of your life. His tongue continued to lap and swirl at the apex of your thighs, sending you higher than you thought possible. His free hand grips your waist, holding you firm against his mouth as you arch and convulse. Your chest heaves, gasping his name and for air that you feel starved from. You almost sob in relief as Mando slowly pulled his fingers from you as the last tremors fade. You hear a sucking wet sound and realize he had put his fingers in his mouth and cleaned them of your juices. His tongue returns, lapping at your dripping cunt like he couldn’t get enough of your taste. You lay dazed, every nerve buzzing dully as your heartrate comes down.

_“You taste- so fuckin good…_ ” Mando swirls a finger inside your cunt, collecting more of your juice before sucking his finger clean. He moans your name as you feel him shift above you, “So fuckin wet! C’mere-“ he grabs you and pulls you to him. His body against yours made you arch up, your hands run over his arms, his back, his ass… You want him so bad, the fire flaring back to life so soon after your climax. You wanted more.

“I want you-“ you whisper and grab his head and bring his mouth to yours.

You could taste yourself on his lips…tangy and musky and he groans into your mouth. He splays his hand over your ribs, just under the crease of your breast. He holds himself over you just enough not to crush you as he kisses you deeply, his tongue dipping into your mouth, exploring there as he had done below. He catches your lower lip between his teeth, giving it a little nip before slanting his mouth back over yours. _Gods he could kiss_ … he could probably make you come again just by kissing you. Mando’s warm palm moves up to your breast manipulating the flesh; thumbing your pebbled nipple which made you squirm in pleasure. His mouth leaves yours, trailing down to graze your jaw with his teeth. You arch and gasp when he bites the skin of your neck and growls. You have never been so turned on in all your life! Every intimate encounter you had before this pales in comparison to Mando treating you like his own personal buffet.

Your hand runs over his chest through his chest hair and down his abdomen, feeling the tight muscles flex at your touch. But no, you hadn’t reached your goal yet. Mando goes rigid when your fingers close around his cock once more. He moans your name as you start stroking him slowly. He rocks his hips into your hand, thrusting in and out of your fist.

“Mmmm” you hum, “You said you couldn’t be gentle…” You lick Mando’s earlobe and bite it before whispering, “Prove it.” You didn’t want to be able to walk tomorrow.

Mando huffed a laugh, grabbing your face in his hand and wrenching your head to the side and bites your neck hard, a millimeter away from breaking the skin. The pain and pleasure war with each other and you groan as you squeeze his large cock in your fist.

“G-give it to me-“ You stammer, your other hand squeezes his ass, pulling him into you, “I need you-“

Mando raises himself over you and you let go of his cock. He grabs your hips, “Get on your knees.” He commands roughly. Your core clenches and he helps you move. You’re on your elbows, your ass high and your knees spread, quivering with excitement and anticipation. You asked for this… His hand runs over the globes of your ass, caressing them reverently before trailing his fingers between them, down to your still dripping cunt. He sticks one thick digit inside and you groan with pleasure, imagining how good his cock is going to feel if this was already making you pant. Mando removes his finger and then you feel the head of his cock slip through your lips, rubbing up and down, coating himself in your juices. You whimper a plea as he holds himself at your entrance, not moving.

“M-mando…”

“Tell me.” He says slowly, one hand resting on your hip, preventing you from pushing yourself onto him, “T-tell me-what you want me to do-“

“Fuck me Mando!” You begged

Without hesitation, Mando shoves his hard length into your tight, wet core, splitting you open with one hard thrust. You cried out at the sudden intrusion, gasping as you felt the air knocked out of you. He was so big… Mando held you still, groaning at the feeling of your tight cunt pulsating around him to accommodate his size, “ _Fuuuucccckkk… you’re so ti-ght-“_ he breathes, “ _You’re so fucking- tight!”_ Your eyes roll into the back of your head as he slowly pulls out and thrusts back into you. This was insane… this was unbelievable, You whimper in pleasure, feeling stupid with it, “ _Fuuuuccckkk…”_

Mando’s hands tighten on your waist as he begins thrusting with earnest, the wet sound your cunt makes over his cock filling the room with its obscene noise. You moan into Mando’s pillow with every thrust, feeling him splitting you open…ruining you. Your body had never known pleasure like this.

Mando breathed hard, his words coming in spurts as he rammed himself into your wet core, “Good girl-Gods it’s like you-were made for my-cock!“ He pounds, “This- this is what-you-wanted-isn’t it?” He grabs your shoulder, pulling you upright against his chest as he thrusts up into you. “I’ve-been-dreaming of this- since I first saw you!” The new angle hits you deep and you cry out as the pleasure builds in your core, “Y-Yes! Gods yes!” You cry. Mando’s arm wraps around your chest holding you against him. He buries his face into your neck and bites down on that sweet spot as his fingers slide between your legs. You see stars as his fingers rub your clit as he fucks you into oblivion.

You were done. No warning. Nothing.

A tidal wave of euphoria slammed into you and you cry out as you came harder than before. You brain went blank, the only thing existing was the pleasure coursing through your body like wildfire. Your cunt clamps down on Mando’s cock as he continues to pump in and out of you, riding out your orgasm with you before he too is lost. Mando cries out your name and slams you down onto him one last time as he comes. His muscles shake and jump from the power of his orgasm as he poured himself into you. You were both sweat soaked, trembling and chests heaving as you came back down to the present. The intensity shook you to your core, in all your imaginings, nothing compared to feeling Mando’s sweat soaked body against yours with his dick buried to the hilt as you wallow in post euphoric bliss.

You reach a trembling hand behind your head, touching his hair as you turn your face to his in the dark. His mouth covers yours, gentle and exhausted. Mando frees a hand and carefully eases out of you and guides you both down onto the bed. You lay there together as your heart rates return to normal. Your thoughts go in and out, migrating from the heaviness in your limbs to what had just happened between you two. You both had crossed a line together… there was no going back to what was there before. You knew each other intimately now. You haven’t seen his face, but you had it buried between your thighs moments before. Whatever happens now, you’ll meet it head on. You will enjoy the present, and worry about the future later.

Mando’s hand trials across your temple, brushing your hair behind your ear and sighs, contented. His fingers trail up and down your arm as you lay in the dark, listening to each other breathe. After a few minutes of silence, you spoke.

“In all my fantasies… I never thought it would be that good.”

You feel Mando’s chest rumble with his laugh and he lays a kiss on your shoulder, “Oh yeah?” He reaches over and grabs your breast, the nipple pebbling at his touch and you sigh, scooting back into his warmth, “Hmmm. I guess I’ll have to update them.” You smile, feeling pleasantly sore between your legs.

“I-I’m sorry… for leaving the way I did.” Mando says softly. He kisses your shoulder again and resumes running his fingers down your arm and hip.

You pillow your head onto his bicep and he moves his arm to comfortably cradle your head, “Where’d you go?” You ask into the darkness.

“Maz’s place. I needed to… think? I don’t know…” you could feel him searching for what to say. You lay quietly, letting him come up with his own explanation. He was quiet for a few minutes. If he wasn’t still touching you, you would’ve thought he’d fallen asleep.

“I-I haven’t felt attraction for anyone… in a very long time,” He says quietly, “On Sorgan I had half a mind to leave you tied to a tree… You were an enemy until…” Mando’s hand trailed over the swell of your hip as he looked for the words, “… I saw you as a potential ally. You had saved the kid from the other hunter.” You stretch your legs, tangling with his as you listened. This is the most he’s ever said at one time. Post climactic cuddling seemed to be the one thing that loosens his tongue.

“With what happened to your ship… I saw an opportunity: I needed help with the kid like you wouldn’t believe and… I wanted you around.” He admitted. “After Tattooine…” You wince at the memory, “…I had no doubts you would protect the baby with your life.” Mando kissed your neck softly.

“When we sparred this morning… seeing how you reacted when I had you on the ground… that’s when I knew then this wasn’t as one sided as I thought.”

Oh? You smiled. He had no idea how often you had imagined him as your hands were between your legs. You turn, twisting on the bed and nuzzle your face under his chin. Your hand touching his chest, twirling your fingers through his chest hair.

“Nope. Not one sided at all.” You murmur, kissing his chest softly. His arm tightened around you, his hand now tracing patterns over your spine.

“Maz accosted me when she saw I was there without you. She demanded to know what I had done wrong without letting me get a word in. That female is too fucking much,” Mando grumbled. You chuckle, “Oh trust me, I know.”

“She gave me an earful, I won’t tell you all what she said, but I knew if I didn’t come back here I would’ve messed things up worse than when I left.” He finishes and sighs. You reach up and touch his cheek, “Thank you for coming back. Hell of a homecoming don’t you think?” You and Mando laugh quietly. You think about your next words carefully.

“I know you live by the Creed, and I would never do anything to jeopardize that,” You would never see his face, but you could live with this. Here in the dark where touch could show more than sight. Mando was quiet for a moment, “We have loopholes… like this, in the dark. There are others… I can show you later.” He pulled his blanket over you both and you snuggle further into his warmth, “But for now, sleep. Before the ‘lil beast’ wakes up.”

“But in the morning, the sun, won’t it-“

“Your room is the only one with the window, this room is the darkest in the ship. Helps me sleep.” Well then, that must be nice. You rest your head back down and breathe in deeply. Your limbs were heavy from the early morning run, and you doubt you could move comfortably in the morning. You smile softly and let the sound of Mando’s heartbeat eases you off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> Let me know what you think. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter nearly as much as I enjoyed writing it.  
> 


	11. Mi'ona

Chapter 11

Mi'ona

If the Mandalorian thought you were going to sleep soundly with him naked beside you, he was dead wrong. You woke up a few hours later to a certain appendage pressing hard into your backside. You open your eyes to the darkness and listen intently. The only sound was his deep breathing, punctuated by soft snores. There were no sounds of early morning sparrow songs, so you estimated morning was still a few hours away. You roll over, a wicked idea forming.

Mando roused slightly when you draped a leg over his waist and held yourself over him. His cock was hard as steel when you touched it playfully, teasing the tip with light touches as it twitched at the sensation. You guide it between your thighs and slowly sank onto it as Mando’s soft snores ceased and he began to wake up.

“Wha- _uhnn_ ” he breathed as you sank down on his hard length, your hands posted on his chest as your own moan escaped you. Gods how could he feel this good?! You rocked forward, the movement bringing Mando completely into the world of the living as he groaned, “ _F-fuck-“_ his hands went to your waist as you rocked against him again, savoring the deep ache his hard cock caused inside your core.

“Hm, I couldn’t resist.” You hummed as you rocked your hips back and forth on him, causing the Mandalorian to pant and groan in time to your movements. You felt so deliciously brazen, waking him up to you riding his cock. He had given you the ride of your life last night; it was only fair to return the favor.

Mando moans your name, his hands reaching up to fondle your breasts as they bounced with your movement. You slow down your pace and adjust your movement; lifting your hips up and down now, up almost to the point where he come out and then you sink slowly back down. He groans at the new movement and starts speaking a language you’ve never heard before, almost sounding like a prayer.

_“Mi’ona na gath ya ori’kay…”_

You grin at the reaction you could get out of him. The stoic Mandalorian, babbling away as you rode his cock. You grab his hands off of you and lean forward, pinning them to either side of him as you ground your cunt onto his length.

“It’s my turn,” You declare to the darkness. The position causes his pelvic bone to rub against your clit and you groan, feeling a climax building in you. Perfect. You knuckle down and pick up the pace, seeing stars as you hit the right place over and over and by the sound of it, hitting Mando’s spot too.

“Yes,” he pants, lifting his hips up off the bed, giving you more control over the movements and driving his cock deeper into you. Your climax builds in your pelvis and extending throughout your core as you whine, rocking brokenly on Mando’s length. Mando feels your rhythm break and grabs your hips, re assuming the rhythm as your climax shatters over you. You cry out raggedly, feeling Mando ramming his length in you as you ride out the climax. Mando groans, sinking back into the mattress and holds you too him as your climax brings his. You could do nothing but hold onto him as his hips jolt the last few thrusts before he goes rigid and you feel him cum inside you, his cock pulsating against your walls. Mando shutters, chest heaving against yours, “You- can be- my alarm clock- for now on.” He pants and pats your ass on top of him, chuckling softly. You smile against his neck and kiss his cheek, “Mmmm.” You hum contentedly.

“What time is it?”

“Early?” You yawn. Mando ran his fingers through your hair and turns on his side, guiding you to lie beside him on the bed. He kisses you softly as you burrow yourself closer into his warmth.

“Really early for you.” He laughs quietly and pulls the blanket back up to cover you both. You were already dozing off, post climactic exhaustion settling over you like a fog. Mando runs his fingers through your hair, massaging your scalp softly as you doze. This was heaven… maybe you could sleep for a little… while… longer…

* * *

You awoke a couple hours later to light pouring into the room. You squint your eyes against the light, seeing that the bedroom door was open. You stretch and froze. You squeezed your eyes closed, holding your breath as you reach behind you… and feel the space empty. You sigh in relief and sit up in bed, looking around the room. Mando’s helmet was gone, and your clothes were on the chair. You stand and wince. You smile to yourself and dressed in your clothes from the previous night. You stand in the middle of the room, wondering why you were hesitant about stepping out. So much happened last night, will it change when you leave this room? Will it be awkward?

Decisions made in the dark are consequences in the light.

You put a hand to your hair and cringe at the crazy bed head you got going on. That’s not attractive. You peek out in the hall and darted to the refresher. In the mirror you gawk at the dark bruises on your neck and shoulder. You remember Mando’s teeth on you, so hard it almost broke the skin and heat flares low in your core. Gods that was amazing last night. You touch the marks… you need to cover them up. You shower and go change in your room, picking a high neck tunic that covered the marks sufficiently. The door to your bedroom slides open and you turn to see the kid waddling in.

“You lil stinker, did you open the door again?”

The kid giggles and waddles towards you with arms outstretched. You pick him up and go inspect the doors keypad. You look at the keypad and back at the kid… the close the door while holding the kid, waiting for him to do something, “Go on, open it. I know you can.” The kid looks at you and reaches for your face. You sigh; you weren’t going to get any answers from him it seems.

Outside you see Mando tinkering with the landing gears. You swallow your nervous jitters and approach him.

“Hey.”

Mando looks up as you approach, “Hey.”

He sets down the tool in his hand and comes toward you.

“So on top off all of this kid’s talents,” You say, “He can open doors regardless of the keypads. How much baby proofing does this guy needs?” You set the kid down on the grass and watch as he grabs Mando’s wrench and hits it on the ground.

“Yeah I noticed that when I first got him. That’s why my door has a secondary lock for when I’m inside. I don’t know how he does it,” Mando muses, “He can either use his mind moving thing to press the button, or bypass the lock.”

He looks over at you, “How’re you feelin?”

You couldn’t stop the blush creeping over your cheeks and nod, “Good. You?”

“A lil tired… didn’t sleep through the night.” You detected the amusement in his voice and blushed that much harder. “I’m not complaining.” He laughs softly. It broke the tension and you smiled, “Good, cause I have a mind to do it again.”

Mando looks at you high necked tunic and reaches over, pulling your lapel down until his bite mark was visible. He touches it softly with a gloved hand, “I’m… sorry-“

“Don’t be.” You smirk, “I enjoyed it.”

The kid starts squealing as he thumps the ground with the wrench, you pick him up and take the tool away from him, “Damn you lil terror.”

Mando wipes his hands, “We need to restock our supplies while we are here. There’s a market not too far from here. We can make orders and it will be delivered to the ship.”

You were impressed. Having to carry the shit back from the market ruined the fun of shopping. You’ve been here a few days, and knew you couldn’t stay for long before other bounty hunters picked up on the kids signal. When would the running end?

“The Ex-Imperial General that hired you to retrieve him… is he the only one that wants him?”

“I don’t know. When I turned the kid in, there was a scientist there to examine him. He wanted him alive and seemed like he actually cared for his well being. The Imp, he didn’t care if he was alive or dead. I don’t understand it… I don’t see how he is so valuable that every bounty hunter in the Guild was given this job.”

You look down at the little guy and pet one long ear and boop his nose.

“I guarantee any bounty hunter that lives with this guy for one day will either run for the hills or fall in love with him.” You kiss his wrinkled head, “We can’t run with him forever.” You say what you’ve been thinking for weeks.

“I know. But for now that’s all we can do to keep him safe.”

* * *

You and Mando restock your supplies at the market and went to Maz’s for dinner. It was somewhat awkward dinner at Maz’s: she would not stop eyeing you and Mando and making thinly veiled comments that caused you to almost spit up your drink. Maz kept winking at you and would smile knowingly. Little _kriffen_ busybody.

As soon as you returned to the ship, you were both surprised to find there was a hologram message waiting. You are a firm believer that any thought you extend out into the universe, you will get an answer. It’s almost scary how you could talk about something out loud and then soon after, something will happen that would immediately make you reflect on your earlier words.

Mando motioned for you to play the recorded message. Greef Karga appeared.

 _“My friend, if you are receiving this transmission, that means you are alive. You might be surprised to hear this, but I am alive too. I guess we can call it even.”_ You look at Mando, “You tried to kill him?” Mando nods and you return to the message.

_“A lot has happened since we last saw each other. The man who hired you is still here, and his ranks of ex- Imperial guards have grown. They have imposed despotic rule over my city, which has impeded the livelihood of the Guild. We consider him an enemy, but we cannot get close enough to take him out. If you would consider one last commission, I will very much make it worth your while. You have been successful so far in staving off their hunters, but they will not stop until they have their prize.”_

The child whimpers in your lap as if he understood. You pet his ears, shushing him as you listened further, _“So here is my proposition. Return to Nevarro. Bring the child as bait. I will arrange an exchange, and provide loyal Guild members as protection. Once we get near the client, you kill him, and we both get what we want. If you succeed, you keep the child and I will have your name cleared with the Guild, for a man of honor should not be forced to live in exile. I await your arrival with optimism.”_ The hologram image of Karga bends down and shuts off the recorder, leaving you and Mando stunned in the silence.

You wait for Mando to speak, to let you know what he was thinking. But he was mute, leaning over the back of the chair and looking out at the night sky in the window in front of you. The child fusses in your arms and you get out of the captain’s chair and take the kid to his cubby. After a few minutes you got the kid to sleep. Mando re-watching Karga’s message when you returned. You hung back in the doorway listening.

The message played out to the end a second time and Mando remained unmoving in his chair. The glow of the control panel reflecting off his helm in the darkness.

“What do you think?” His voice breaks through the silence. You step forward and lean over the back of his chair, thinking how to word your thoughts.

“You want sugar coated or straight?”

Mando looks up at you, “you don’t sugar coat.” He quips.

“Karga is right; they won’t stop until they have him. It’s a good idea… needs some fine tuning and details worked out. But the outcome is what we want isn’t it? No more running… and you wouldn’t be banned from Guild work anymore.” Maybe then you would have better bounties and not mercenary heists like the last fiasco. The possibilities are endless if this works out.

Mando looks back at the hologram and replays the message for the third time.

“He says he has loyal Guild Members for protection, anyone you know of come to mind?” 

You were wondering that yourself and didn’t know of Karga being chummy with anyone. He knew your family, he was there during the aftermath of their death. “No one… Karga was close with my family… I still do consider him a close family friend but I don’t know of anyone he kept close to him.”

“If the kid is needed as bait, we need someone that can watch him while we make the exchange.” Mando muses.

“Do you know someone you can trust to protect him?” You ask, thinking of Peli.

Mando nods, “An Ugnaught on Arvala-7 where I found the kid.”

That was before you met Mando, “What about Peli Motto?”

Mando shook his head, “She owns her own hanger, she wouldn’t be able to leave it for this. It would be a financial hit for her. The Ugnaught is on his own…him and his Blurggs.” You would’ve liked to see Peli again, but agree with Mando.

“Okay, when do we leave for Arvala-7?”

“We will leave in the morning.” Mando turns around in his Captain’s chair and faces you.

“Sounds good to me.” You reply. He continues to look at you. The weight of his look causing tension in the air. You fidget with the ends of your tunic, playing with a stray thread under his scrutinizing gaze.

“What?” You murmur, suddenly self-conscious. Why was he looking at you like that? Mando reaches out a hand, stopping you from tearing your hem to shreds.

“Any ideas what we can do to…” he pulls you closer, “pass the time till mornin’?”

Oh?… Oh! He pulls you onto his lap. You adjusted to keep the beskar from digging into you. You smile, excited. The kid was asleep and Mando was feeling randy.

Mando removes a glove and runs a bare hand along your shoulder to elbow, “Tell me one of these fantasies you’ve had…” He requests, amusement clear in his voice. You heart pounds, tell him?!

“Uhh…” You were embarrassed, “Um… I don’t know…”

Mando chuckles, “Oh come on…” His hand lifts from your arm to unbutton the front of your high necked tunic. You watch him undo one button… and then another…. another. Mando reaches inside your open tunic and palmed your wrapped breast. He trailed his fingers over the binding and waits for you to say something. You could feel his touch through the cloth and blood rushed hot through you. “Well…” You swallow thickly, unsure how he’s going to react to your next words…

“One… fantasy. You’re… naked.” You close your eyes, melting into his touch, “But the helmet…stays on.”

Mando’s fingers skim over the breast bindings, loosening them until they draped over your stomach. He palmed your breast, moving a peaked nipple between two rough skinned fingers. He tweaked it, causing you to squeak and he chuckled, “The helmet stays on…” He muses thoughtfully, his fingers trailing down over your abdomen and slipped underneath the band of your pants. His fingers skims over your mound… ghosting up and down your slit, avoiding your clit, making you ache with frustration. He could feel how wet you were, you were practically dripping onto him.

“I want to watch-“ You gasp, moving your hips in hopes you could make his fingers touch that one spot that begged for his attention, “I want to watch… you fuck me.” You groan when he swirls a finger over your clit finally. You felt Mando’s cock jump underneath you, constrained as it was by his clothing.

Without warning, Mando stands, throwing you over his shoulder. You yelp at the sudden movement. Mando carries you down the hall, his hand over your ass and smacks it, “Whatever my lady wants, she gets it.” You flush with excitement. Oh yesssss.

Mando tosses you onto his bed, you bounce once and sit up as he approaches. Watching Mando remove his clothes was a turn on all in itself. He unclasps his chest plate and sets it aside when you have a thought, “Wait-“ He pauses, his hand hovering over his arm plates.

“Let me.” You stand up and step towards him. He holds his arms to his sides in silent invitation.

You put your hands on his plates and unclasp one after another until he was left in his thick woven Kevlar body suit. You look for the zipper or buttons to undo it and couldn’t find one. Mando reaches under his helmet and pulls down the separator until it was in your view and stops. You take it in your hand and slowly pull it down, watching with bated breath as his skin comes into view the more you pull. You lean forward and place a kiss on her sternum. Gods you couldn’t get over how good he smells. Mando’s hands run through your hair as you finish the job and he steps out of his suit. He was still in his boxers… black of course. A near naked Mando wearing nothing but his helmet and his boxers was a hell of a sight to see. You had gotten a glimpse of him the first night you were together… now you can soak in the view.

Mando holds out his hands, “Like what you see?”

You huff a laugh and touch his chest, admiring the skin beneath your palms, “I wish you could see yourself through my eyes.” You hook your thumbs around the band of his boxers and pull them down.

Gods!

Feeling him in your hands was one thing… being eye to eye with that handsome appendage was another thing entirely. Mando’s gasp was audible as you took him in your hands. Soft velvety skin, ridged with veins and already hard as iron in your grasp. How hard… how needy he was in your hands… It made your mouth water… You kneel and take him in your mouth. Mando shuddered with a moan, “ _Gods_!” You look up at him as you ran your tongue along the underside of his shaft, flicking the tip as you pull off of him. The musky salty taste of him was intoxicating…

“You got to taste me…” You said breathlessly, seeing his fists clench and unclench as if searching for self-restraint, “I wanted to taste you.” And you take him deep into your mouth. He gasps your name as his hips buck into your mouth. There we go… You hum into him and hear him start muttering.

He’s speaking another language again. “ _N’gayaha muniya k’uela oye”_ You need to ask what he’s saying later.

For now… let’s see how worked up you could get him. You take him in deep, loving the salty tang of his precum on your tongue. Mando’s hands threads through your hair, and holds your head still as he starts thrusting in and out of your mouth.

“ _Mi'ona…”_ He moaned, his hips jerking violently, thrusting his length further down your throat. You steel yourself to not gag, holding to his waist and bob your head to take in as much of him as possible. If he felt large inside your cunt, he felt even bigger in your mouth. You relax your throat and concentrate on the rhythm as you slip one hand into your underwear and start touching yourself. Just like before, reality was so much better than fantasy.

Sweat started glistening on his exposed skin, the muscles in his lower abdomen flexing and twitching as you pumped his cock with your mouth. You feel Mando’s hips stutter and you look up, seeing him looking down at you; his head cocked to the side, watching you touch yourself. You could see your reflection in his visor, tits out, sucking on his big cock while you touch yourself like a pornographic hologram… you felt like a whore in the red light district on Canto Bight and you didn’t give a fuck.

“You like what you see?” You parrot his own words back at him, giving him a sly smile as you jerk him off with one hand.

“ _Smartass.”_ He pulls away from you, kneeling down to grab you under the arms and throw you onto the bed, “I thought you wanted to watch me fuck you you dirty girl?” He growls as he grapples with your bottoms. He tears them off and throws them across the room. He tears the remnants of your breast bindings and tunic off next, laying you completely bare before him.

“Fuckin do it then.” You reach between you to stroke his cock, still wet from fucking your throat. Mando grabs your hand off of him, pinning it and your other wrist over your head. Dear Gods…

He thrusts into you without warning. Your back arches off the bed as you cry out in pleasure. A choked moan rips from him as he fully seats himself within you and pulls out, as if relishing the pull of your walls on his engorged length. You groan as he thrusts into you again, hitting you so deep you wonder if it was possible he could bruise your insides. You lift your head and look down, watching his thick length disappear and reappear between your lips, glistening with your juices. It was so erotic. Mando follows the direction of your gaze and huffs a laugh between moans, “Like what you see?”

You arch against his hold on your wrists, “Looks as good at it feels.” You smile, “Now fuck me like you mean it Mando.” You strain your head up and kiss his helmet. A low rumble starts in his chest and he presses you further into his bed as he started fucking you wide open. You squealed as he speared a spot deep inside you, bringing tears to your eyes. Your cunt clamped down on him as he pounded into you faster and harder, fucking you just like you wanted. Oh Gods if this was how you died you would die a happy woman…

You cry out for him as you feel you climax building. You needed more! Mando leaned over you, “You like that? That fucking-hard enough for you!” He groaned, “Gods- fucking-perfect!”

You love hearing his voice, that strained emotion sending you to the edge, “I-I’m about to cum!”

Mando releases your wrists and pulls you up into his lap, thrusting up into you as you cling to him. Your nails dig into his back and hook your legs around his waist, holding on for dear life. Your face buried in his neck and you bite down on that sensitive part you yourself know so well. Mando gasped, “Ugh Gods!” he tightens his hold on you as you feel him tip over the edge, bringing you with him. You cry out into his neck as you feel him tense and the flood of warmth as he empties himself into you, tipping you into your own climax. Your own muscles contract… you inner walls milking him as pleasure flowed like fire over you. Mando groans into your neck, his beskar helmet cool against your flushed skin and you leaned into it, holding it against you with a hand. He mutters in that language of his again, breathless, _“Mi'ona na gath ya ori’kay…”_

Chest to chest, you feel Mando’s heart pound against yours in the aftermath of your shared climax. Sweat flowed between your bodies as you both fought to catch your breath. Mando eased you onto the bed and flumped down beside you, exhausted. You run a hand through his chest hair, catching the damp and chuckling, “This… is my new favorite workout.” Mando reached a hand over and ran a finger through the sweat beading between your breasts, swirling a design up to your peaked nipple and twirling around it. Watching as it grew hard and pebbled under his attentions.

“You are my new favorite workout.” Mando tweaked the nipple, making you squeak. You gaze at his body next to yours, taking your time trailing your fingers over his muscles and scars. Mando had quite the collection… you outline a circular puckered scar on his shoulder, “How’d you get this one?”

Mando turned his head to see, “Blaster wound… one of my first injuries. I forgot to check the bounty for weapons. Never made that mistake again.”

You explore further, your finger dipping into an indent underneath one of his ribs, “Stab wound?”

“Yeah, I got that one from a creature on Tattooine on during one of my travels there. A sort of insectoid with sharp spikes on its tail. Snuck up on me while I was sleeping.” Mando shuddered beside you, “Probably was looking for a place to lay its eggs.” You balked, “Eww.”

Mando looked down at your body, his fingers exploring your skin in the light, “Speaking of scars… what’s this one from?” He traces a thin line from your shoulder almost to the center of your chest.

You look down at it, touching it softly, “That’s a weird one. I don’t remember it fully. It was years ago on Coruscant. I was in a bar searching for information on a bounty. There was a fight I wasn’t involved in, but I ended up in the fray. There was a blue glowing sword a Twi’lek woman held, I was pushed towards her. Next thing I know I remember waking up and she was over me, my chest burned… I remember she looked upset. Then she ran off. I was taken to some underground healer and this is what I have to remember it.”

Mando traced the scar musingly. You cover his hand with your, “Join me in the shower? I’ll turn off the lights?”

You felt starved when his mouth finally fell onto yours as the water washed the remains of the day away. You could live in the dark if it meant moments like this were frequent. You wonder what was better… seeing his body in the light… or feeling all of him in the dark?

You utter a low moan as Mando’s mouth leaves yours and latches on your breast….

The dark… definitely the dark.

* * *

Fingers moved through your hair slowly… scratching your scalp in the most pleasurable way as it pulls you out of your deep sleep. You hum as Mando’s fingers rub deep into your hair. He does seem to have a fascination with your hair… he was always running his fingers through it and rubbing it between his fingertips. Last night he had fallen asleep with his face nestled in your tresses. You wonder what he likes about it so much?

You stretch luxuriously against his ministrations, “Do you never sleep in?” You yawn and wiggle your rump against that delicious part of him that was _always_ awake. And it was most certainly _awake_. Mando grabbed your waist to stop your teasing, “How can I sleep in when I have a _Mi'ona_ such as you in my bed.” He mutters into your ear before biting your lobe. The sensation making your arch and whimper, coming further out of sleep. Mando’s hand leaves your head and reaches over to cup a heavy breast in his palm. That reminds you…

“What’s that word mean? You were speaking a language I don’t know earlier…what were you saying?”

Mando didn’t answer right away. His hand traced the line of your breast as he considers his words, “ _Mi'ona_ means ‘beautiful woman.’ The rest…” He pulls you against him, taking a quick nip at your neck, “Are a prayer that my soul doesn’t leave my body.” You smile and twist in his arms. Craning your head up kiss his chin.

“Don’t worry Mando, I’ll keep your soul _firmly_ grounded.” You nuzzle his neck, scattering kisses over the warm skin.

Mando’s arms circled you, pulling you in closer as you hike a leg over his hip, tangling your legs together.

“Din.”

“Hm?”

“My name is Din… Din Djarin” The words finally register in your lust addled brain. His name…

He just told you his name…

You lay a hand on his cheek, “Hello… Din,” and pull his face to yours… kissing Din for the first time.

* * *

Arvala-7 reminded you of Tattooine and Nevarro. There were so many sandy desert planets in this galaxy… You hate sand… The area you landed in looked like a strange farm. Strange big bodied beast with no neck lumbered around in a pen and the color green didn’t exist here…

Prior to landing, Din explained that in front of others, he wanted to still be known as ‘Mando’ and not by his name. You could respect that… _Mando in the streets, Din in the sheets…_

The Ugnaught greeted you and Mando outside of his humble dwelling and brought you in. It was a cozy home, the temperature much cooler inside and comfortable. You introduced yourself and sat next to Mando at the dining area. The Ugnaught looked at the kid, “It hasn’t grown much.” He looks it over critically.

“I think it might be a Strand-cast.” Mando speculates.

“I don’t think it was engineered. I’ve worked in the gene farms. This one looks evolved… too ugly.”

Kuill looks at you up and down. “This one on the other hand, looks like she was farmed in the cytocaves of Nora.” You certainly know how to charm a lady, Kuill. You were flattered by the creative compliment.

“You’re too sweet.” You wink at him. Yeah, this guy is growing on you.

“You are a bounty hunter?” Kuill asks, settling himself down at the table.

“I am.”

Kuill eyes you curiously, “You were hunting the child?”

You nod, “I did not know it was a child… and when I saw what I was hunting, I abandoned the mission.”

Kuill looks at Mando…, “And now you two work together?” You both nod.

Steps are heard outside of the hovel, an IG unit appears, bearing a tray of drinks. You hear Mando draw his blaster and your pull yours at the sign of danger. You hit the kids pram, closing it shut as you aimed at the droid.

“Would anyone care for some tea?”

Kuill holds up his hands, putting himself between the blasters and the droid, “Please lower your blasters. He will not harm you.”

“That thing is programmed to kill the baby.” Mando replies not lowering his blaster an inch.

“Not anymore.” Kuill tells of how he reprogrammed the IG unit after Mando had shot out its CPU. You lower your blaster and put it away, listening to Kuill’s tale with rapt attention. He sure knows how to tell a story. You could listen to him lull you to sleep with that raspy voice of his. You look over to Mando, who still looked unconvinced. You reach a hand over and place it on his, pushing his blaster down.

“Is it still a hunter?” Mando asks uncertainly.

Kuill shakes his wrinkled head, “No. But it will protect.”

The IG unit extends a cup of tea and you take it. Kuill takes his leave to check on the Blurggs and Mando follows behind him to talk about the job. You take drink from the tea, eyeing the IG unit suspiciously, “What is your base function?”

The IG unit puts the empty teapot into the sink next to the doorway, “To protect.” It drones.

“To protect what?”

“To protect what I am programmed to protect.”

After night has fallen, Mando returns to report on the agreed upon conditions. Shortly thereafter the Blurggs, IG-11 and Kuill join you on the Razor Crest heading for Nevarro.

You had never seen a Blurgg before.

“Do these guys have names?” You ask Din as you help secure them in the hold. Din shakes his head, “No names. But these are all females. Kuill said they eat the males after they mate.”

You choke down a laugh… unsuccessfully, and start wheezing. Din stopped what he was doing and stared at you. You dissolve into laughter, holy fuck how does he not find that funny?!

“The-The very definition of a-of a- of a one night stand!” You choke, laughing. Din doesn’t laugh and you roll your eyes, “Men.” You thought it was pretty funny. You both finish securing the black widow Blurggs and head to the control room.

Din wants you to keep an eye on the IG unit, he’s adamant that droid not to be allowed anywhere near the child. You know he doesn’t share any love for droids, but it seems like he has a deep personal hatred for them. “Kuill reprogrammed it,” you try to explain to him; “It’s not the same droid that tried to kill him on Arvala. He’s a nurse droid now.” But Din wasn’t having any of it. Nothing you could say could alter his long lived distrust of all things artificial.

“That thing is not allowed to leave the ship.” You give up.

Kuill was working on a new pram for the kid, something bigger for him to grow into and provide security for what was to come. You allowed Kuill free reign of your forge and tools to help accomplish the job. As Nevarro got closer, you became more anxious. You couldn’t sit still and you check your blasters continuously. You forgo the droid poppers for more ammunition… who knows how much you’ll need.

You debated sending Karga a message letting him know that you would be with the Mandalorian but ultimately decided against it. He will see when you arrive. You look back to your last time on Nevarro and remember that there had been more Stormtroopers than usual after Din invaded their strong house to retrieve the child. Stormtroopers were known for their poor aim but make up for it in sheer numbers. If this Imp had an army around him, the chances of Din killing him and everyone getting away were slim. You prayed that Karga had a good plan.

Din announces that they were landing and you ready yourself. You meet him in the control room and watch the decent through Nevarro’s atmosphere. Karga had given him the coordinates of where to land for the meeting. It was in the middle of nowhere, over a day away from the city.

You grab Din’s shoulder from behind him and he looks up. He could read the concern on your face and you lean down and wrap your arms around his upper body. Din reached up a hand and placed it over the back of your head. He must be as worried as you because he held you there. You burrow your head against his neck and mutter, “We got this. The kid will be safe finally.”

Din sighs, “If things go badly… you take the kid and get the hell out. No matter what.”

You blink and pull away, “I won’t have to… we’re all getting out.” You wish you could read his face, just to know what he was thinking.

“Listen to me. I want you to promise.” Din takes your arm and pulls you around from behind the chair to face him. He pulls you close, taking your chin in his hand so you couldn’t look away from him, “I need to know that when I ask you to go, you’ll go. Don’t fight me on this… please.”

Tell him what he wants to hear. You don’t know anything about what you’re walking into. If it comes down to it… you don’t know if you could leave him. You heart constricts in your chest as you school your expression… The kid must be saved at all costs, no matter what lays ahead. You send up a silent prayer that you would never have to be put in that situation.

You nod, “I… promise.”

The tension leaves Din’s body at your words and he sighs, relaxing his hold on your chin and caresses your cheek with his fingers. You lean into his touch.

“Close your eyes.” Din instructs.

You frowned, confused by the command.

“Close your eyes,” He says again, “don’t open them.”

You do as he says. You hear movement, and then warm lips touch yours. Your eyes almost fly open in surprise but you keep them closed tightly as Din cradles your face in his hands. _Gods_ this man could kiss. You touch his face, feeling the bristle on his cheeks and slide your hands through his hair, pulling him closer into you. You never needed anything as much as you needed his touch. So much has changed in the past 48 hours and you try to keep up with all your emotions, to keep a leveled head and not get ahead of yourself.

You care for Din… deeply. More than you have ever cared for Cassian’s father… This man’s face you’ve never seen, you will never see, and you feel closer to him than any man you’ve ever been with.

The Mandalorian’s actions conveyed more meaning than words could ever hope to express. His words weren’t silly little sounds made to fill the silence as yours so often do. When he speaks, he has important thoughts to convey. Everything Din did was deliberate… and Din was deliberately making you wish this ship was empty in the moments before you touched down on Nevarro.

You felt Din pull away from your lips and hear movement you now associated with him donning his helmet. You kept your eyes closed… panting from the emotion he just reignited in you. You felt his touch on your cheek.

“Safe?”

“Yes.”

You crack your eyes open, once again looking into your reflection in his visor. Wishing that maybe if you looked at the right angle you would see his eyes but know that it would be a useless endeavor.

“You promise?” Din parrots your words back at you.

You nod, feeling more conflicted than before, “I promise.”

* * *

The Razor Crest touches down on the desert surface of Nevarro.

The three bounty hunters Karga chose to accompany him where unknown, but not unfamiliar to you. You had seen them in passing several times before, but don’t know any by name. Sitting astride the Blurgg, you, Mando and Kuill look down upon them; an educated move by Kuill as a show of superiority and not equality.

You had what they needed; the kid.

Karga broke through his company and approached, ever the confident one, “Apologies for the remote rendezvous Mando! But things have gotten complicated since you were last here…” Karga’s voice trails off as he gets a look at you. You see the surprise on his face, there one minute and gone the next.

“Daughter of Fett!” Greef Karga exclaims in all of a manner of a born showman; hands raised and dipping into dramatic bow, “How good of you to return to us! I am relieved you are in one piece. And so it seems you have partnered with our man of the hour.” Karga’s stare lingers on you as if demanding an explanation. The look on his face was anything but pleased.

“Greetings Karga.” You nod politely from on top of your Blurgg. Karga’s hired bounty hunters look to each other and back at you suspiciously. You won’t lie… you felt awfully smug they knew who you are and they’re unsettled by that. You worked hard for your reputation.

Karga gaze travels over Mando and Kuill on top of their Blurggs, “Where is the little one?” Karga exclaims, hands rose in what you interpret as a show of good faith: not having a weapon in hand.

Mando uses the controls on his forearm plate and guides the pram to Karga. Your hand strays to the blaster held at your side as you lock eyes with Kuill. By his look, he has the same idea. The pram opens to Karga.

Karga looks at the child curiously and reaches for him, “So this little bogwing is what all the fuss was about?” He picks the child up and your finger strays dangerously close to the blaster trigger. No matter how long Karga had been a friend of your father, if he does anything to that child you would put a hole in him without hesitation. The bounty hunters around Karga seem to sense your intention and ready their own weapons. It was a standoff as Karga inspected the child, acting blissfully unaware of the tension around him.

“What a precious little creature…” Karga looks to Mando, “I can see why you didn’t want to harm a hair on it’s wrinkled little head.” Karga’s eyes drift to you and gives you a meaningful look. You sit up in your seat, staring him down. Don’t you drudge up that shit Karga…

Karga returns the child to the pram, “Well I’m glad this matter will be put to rest once and for all-“ Mando closed the pram and pulled it back to the safety between the two of you. You relaxed once the kid was out of… you couldn’t really say ‘harm’s way.’ You have no clue what Karga’s real intentions were if they deviated from what he had expressed earlier. No one truly knows someone, and having the veil of familial relations complicates judgement.

Karga, unfazed, continues, “The sun drops fast on Nevarro. We can walk for a spell, camp out at the riverbank then make our way into town at first light.”

You stare at the bounty hunters Karga brought to the meeting and see them eyeing you with similar interest. You smile at them congenially, letting them know that you’re watching them as Mando motions his Blurgg forward and the other two follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> I am looking for a Beta reader. Someone to look over my work before I post it and assist me with my chapters. If you are interested, please message me and send me some work you've done so I can see your writing style.   
> 


	12. Nevarro

Chapter 12

Nevarro

After spending the whole day riding over the lava flats, Mando and Karga agree to set up camp for the night. The kid had started fussing and crying from the heat and you carried him the remainder of the day until camp was set. You caught Karga watching you several times throughout the day and now, with camp set, you could talk. You pass the kid off to Kuill and leave him and Mando to go talk to Karga.

Karga was conversing with his party when he saw you approaching. He waved them away and you both walk away from the fire to finally talk.

“I must say, I was surprised to see you in Mando’s company.” Karga says now that you were out of earshot, “thought he killed you like the others…”

You watch the fire, weighing your words carefully, “He nearly did.”

“Why didn’t he?”

You turn to Karga, “Why did you send me after a child?”

The showman Karga portrayed was gone… He averted his eyes and was silent. He felt your gaze on him, you knew. He sighed, resigned you were not going to let this go, “I barely thought of the bounty-“

“Child.” You corrected.

“-child.” Karga stared up at the sky, avoiding your stare, “I wasn’t thinking of the child, only of Mando being brought back. I was confident you could find him and bring him in. It wasn’t ‘till you left that I had second thoughts on the mission I sent you on. Not the danger aspect… but your…” Karga met your eyes finally, “…history.”

“That was seriously fucked up.” You hissed, “You had me hunt a CHILD Karga! Was there no miniscule fucking part of you that thought that was fucked up?!”

Karga whirled on you, his face dark, “We all had to do things we don’t want to do! You think I wanted to ask the man who tried to KILL ME for help!” Karga growled “Stormtroopers and Imps have invaded my city and impacted hundreds of lives so forgive me if I’ve been _insensitive!”_

You glare at each other before you turn to walk away from his ugliness. Karga snatches your arm and you whirl on him, blaster held under his chin, “Don’t fucking touch me.” You growled.

Out of your peripheral you saw Mando leap up and Karga’s crew step towards you. Karga’s eyes dart over to Mando and the others around the fire and back to you, “You must understand why I did what I did.” He pleads, forcing his words out in a softer manner as he released your arm. You holster your blaster and hold up a hand to Mando; stopping him from advancing further. You level a look at Karga, “What do you truly want out of this exchange? Cause this seems awfully overdone if you just want to eliminate an enemy.”

“I want my city back.” Karga replies earnestly, “I don’t give a damn about anything else. I can’t get close to the client without Mando and his bount- child.” Satisfied with his answer, you make to head back to the fire.

Karga called your name.

You turn to him and are surprised by the defeated look on his face.

“It was… unwise of me… to send you on that job… I’m sorry.” You look for any indication of sarcasm or untruth and found none. Karga seemed truly remorseful for once. This job he sent you on months ago had changed your life far beyond his scope of knowledge. Inwardly, you thank him for this mission; you wouldn’t have met Mando if it wasn’t for him.

But Karga would never know that.

Back at the fire you sit between Mando and Kuill. Kuill fed the kid pieces from the beast Mando shot earlier. Mando nudged you; you look at him and shake your head, “It’s nothing.” Karga picked a spot on Mando’s other side and watched Kuill feed the child curiously.

“I guess the little bugger’s a carnivore… Never seen anything like it.”

“I doubt anyone has. Do you know what it is?” You ask Karga. He shook his head, “I don’t. They were ready to pay a king’s ransom for that thing. Must be for some kind of highfalutin menagerie.”

Mando changed the subject, “Let’s go over the plan again.” You lean in as Karga explains, “We both enter the common house. We show the client the bait. We join him at the table…and you kill him.” As far as plans go… the simplest end up being the most successful… but even this one sounds a little _too_ simple.

“What are his reinforcements like?” You ask, remembering the presence of more Stormtroopers the last time you were in the city.

“They’re all ex-Empire… as soon as they lose their paycheck- _poof-_ they’ll all scatter.”

“And what if they don’t?” Mando questions.

“They will.”

“That’s not good enough.”

“If, for arguments sake, a few of them don’t realize that I’m their best path to alternative employment and they elect to react impulsively, then these three fine Guild Hunters, excuse me… _four_ fine Guild Hunters-“ Karga gestures to you, “-will cut down anyone who bucks.” Looking at the three other guild members, you couldn’t help but feel uneasy around them. Why did Karga chose them over everyone else?

“How many will there be?”

Karga looked unsettled by the question but replies, “No more than four. He travels with, at most, a Fire Team.” Karga stands to pull more meat off the roasting beast and ends with the worst combination of words one could ever utter in any circumstance: “Nothing can go wrong.”

Chaos explodes when a large beast with wings snatches the food from Karga’s hand. The clearing echoes with the cries of the beasts as they attack the camp. You hit the pram, slamming the doors shut securing the child from harm as you grab both blasters and start firing at any movement above you. Every time one of the winged beast swoops down into the light you unleash a hail of blasts to take it down.

Kuill starts shouting, “Drop her!” You and Mando turn to find one of the winged demons trying to make off with one of the Blurggs. The clearing glows red from the blaster rays you and Mando send at the thing. The creature abandoned its quarry, choosing an easier one. The Tandoshan Bounty hunter screams as he is carried off.

Kuill yells as another creature goes after his Blurgg, this time you and Mando were able to kill it but the stress killed the poor Blurgg. Mando grunts behind you and you are knocked down by a leather covered wing. The air was knocked out of you as you hear Mando fighting off the creature that had him pinned onto his back, its pointed mouth biting at his armor. You leapt up and lite the bastard up until Mando was able to get an arm free and use his flame thrower and ignite the creature. The remaining creatures scatter into the night, deciding that it was too much trouble for this campfire dinner.

You race back to the kid when the two remaining creatures were sufficiently scared away. You open the pram and sigh in relief when two huge eyes stare up into yours. You secure the pram and go discover the state of everyone else. Kuill was mourning over the loss of his two Blurggs but otherwise he was uninjured. You see Karga on the ground and you rush over to take a look. Karga groaned and panted in pain as he held his right arm. You swore at the gaping inflamed wound. This was not good…

“You’re hurt.” You kneel down to inspect the wound. The inflammation around the gashes were steadily speading up Karga’s arm.

“I’m fine I’m fine,” Karga groaned in pain. Who the hell was he trying to convince? “Shut up.” You grumble, ripping open a med pack, “Hold still!” You grab Karga’s arm and inspect the wound and swear, “They got you good.” You grab a biotic shot and inject him quickly before he could pull away from you.

Mando appeared over your shoulder, “How bad?”

“Bad.” You catch the remaining two bounty hunters exchanging a look, “The poisons spreading fast. Is there another medpac?!” They shake their heads. You swear under your breath. Why can’t a mission go smoothly for once?

“I’m guessing that’s a no.” Karga moans in pain. The mission was already going to shit. You’re down two Blurggs, one of Karga’s guild members was plucked from the ground like a flower and now Karga was at deaths door… If he dies, do we abandon the mission?

Mando says your name and you tear yourself from Karga’s wound. You look at Mando, but he wasn’t looking at you. The kid had crawled out of his pram and was waddling towards you. You wave at Mando, “Take him away from this.”

Mando didn’t move, and tilted his head…. and then you understood. Oh… Yeah! You reach over and grab the baby and bring him to Karga’s wound. C’mon little guy, do that healing thingy.

“What is he doing?” Karga asked fearfully, “You trying to feed me to him?!” He pulled away.

You scoffed, “Stop being so dramatic. Look.”

The kid placed his little hand on Karga’s wound and you finally get to see how the kid had healed you. Everyone watches in amazement as the wound beneath the kid’s hand slowly closed and returned to its normal shade. It was truly an amazing thing to witness. The kid falls back and you catch him and cradle him to you. Karga stared at the kid in disbelief, the glaze of pain gone from his eyes. Karga’s gaze lifted to yours and you hoped he could read the look in yours.

You would kill him for this child…

In the aftermath of the attack, Mando ordered a night watch rotation to guard against further ambush. You volunteered for first watch. There was no way you would be able to sleep right away. Adrenalin still buzzed through your body. The two Blurgg carcasses were butchered and taken far from the camp so the scent wouldn’t draw more predators or scavengers to your location. Kuill took watch over the child as the rest worked to clear out the dead. Kuill truly cared for those creatures… you could see how distraught he was by their passing.

There was no sign of the Tandoshan Guild member… you imagine he’s that creatures meal for the evening. Wincing, you push the thought from your head. Mando makes his way over to you after the brunt of the labor was completed.

“You alright?” He asks quietly so the others don’t overhear. You nod, “I’m fine. You? That oversized bird almost flew off with you.”

“Fine,” Mando observes the crew settling down for the evening. You follow the direction of his gaze.

Karga sat by himself touching his arm, casting glances across the camp to where Kuill sat guarding the child in his pram. The two remaining Guild members were huddled together, conversing in hushed tones. You frowned, not sure what to make of it.

“Who do I wake for watch after my shift?”

“Kuill, then me, Karga, then you again. I don’t trust any of his Guild members to watch us why we sleep.” You agree, doubting you would even be able to sleep much when it was your turn for rest. Kuill kept the kids pram next to him for the night. The kid was passed out from the exertion of healing Karga; little dude needed rest.

When everyone settled down for the night, you sat next to the fire, cleaning your blasters and priming them for the upcoming day. Karga’s plan sticks in your mind and you mentally walk through it over and over; coming up with possible outcomes and variations. You yawn, now feeling yourself coming down from the adrenalin from earlier. You wince thinking of what could’ve happened if you were the one that was chosen by those winged demons for dinner. You shake the thought from your head and settle for a more pleasant line of thinking.

Glancing over at Din, you wonder if he was actually asleep. It was impossible to tell from where you are. He could fall asleep while on watch and no one would try anything because no one would know if he was watching them.

You smile, thinking back to earlier that morning… waking up in Din’s arms in the dark. His face burrowed into the crook of your neck, little breaths of sleep tickling your chest. The memory made you wish you were both back on the Crest, sleeping together instead of out here in the open.

In the safety of Din’s bedroom, you could explore his face through your fingertips. Using your imagination and your sense of touch to paint a picture in your mind of how he looks. Din had awakened to your gentle exploration that morning and took your fingers in his, kissing them before pulling you in and kissing you deeply. You both had to be quiet; the knowledge that Kuill was on the ship added a sense of sneaking around you found exhilarating. Though, when you both finally did leave the room that morning, the amused look Kuill cast in your direction made you think you weren’t as discreet as you both had thought.

If everything goes well tomorrow you and Din will be back in the ship by nightfall, free from the Ex-Imperial shadow that hangs over you all. Din will be accepted back into the Guild and the child will be safe from further Imperial harm. If things progress in the same manner as tonight had though… you didn’t have a positive outlook. If things go south, you had to grab the kid and get out of there, with or without Din.

Could you do that?

Could you leave Din behind if he tells you to? Your heart constricts in your chest at the thought of leaving him. Tears prick at the corner of your eyes and you furiously blink them away. Quit it! Get ahold of yourself. Everyone has a purpose they need to fulfill, and if it comes down to it you will do what needs to be done.

Your hour was up and you go wake Kuill for his turn on watch. He grumbled sleepily as he made his way to the fire and you guided the kids pram close to you as you settled in on your blanket beside Mando. You couldn’t remember the last time you had slept on hard ground. Anytime you were out and about you would sleep on your Star-skipper. You shift, feeling rocks in your back and adjust. Mando lay unmoving and you assumed he was fast asleep. Sleeping in that helmet could not be comfortable… Wearing that thing all day and now all night must be miserable.

… You need to sleep. Your next watch is in three hours.

* * *

Mando wakes you the next morning. You blink at him through bleary eyes and yawn in the most unattractive fashion possible. Last night was probably on your top ten worst nights you’ve ever had the displeasure of living through. It felt as if you had just fallen asleep when it was your turn for second watch. Mando hands you a cup of Caff and you take it gratefully. This cup was going to be the only thing that got you through the morning. The kid was awake and babbling to Kuill, seeming quite recovered from last night.

Everyone breaks camp and the decision is made to head into Nevarro. Kuill mounts the last remaining Blurgg, keeping guard over the child while you and Mando follow behind Karga and his remaining two Guild hunters. You both watch the three conversing in hushed tones. Without seeing their faces, you could tell they were having a disagreement.

“Think they’re having second thoughts?” You muse aloud.

“Could be… I need your eyes.”

“I’m watching.”

You walk for miles… You curse the winged beasts for killing off your mounts. You and Mando walk with Karga just as the city is visible in the distance.

Karga surveys the city below, “I guess this is it.”

You didn’t hear the Guild members advance behind you… no. Not until Karga whirled around, blasters in both hands and fires. Even if he had been aiming at you two you would’ve never been able to return fire fast enough. You exhaled a shaky breath when you realize you weren’t hit. You look back and see the bodies in the dirt. You look at Karga, your blaster trained on him as he raises both hands in the air. You heart pounds so hard your gun hand shakes unsteadily. Would Karga have killed you? He was there for you in the worst time of your life, keeping you alive when all you wanted to do was eat your own gun… Would he seriously have pulled the trigger, ending your life?

“There’s something you should know.” Karga looks at you and Mando as he walks between you to the bodies on the ground. He holsters his blasters and kicks the guns from the unmoving forms.

“The plan was to kill you and take the kid.” Karga faced you, “Seeing you with Mando… complicated things… But after what happened last night, I realized I couldn’t go through with it.” Fucker had the gall to look remorseful! You didn’t lower your blaster.

Mando stepped forward, “You were going to kill us?!”

Karga’s hands were raised in surrender, “Go on. You can gun me down here and now and it wouldn’t violate the Code. But if you do, this child will never be safe.” Mando looks at the child in his pram, staring at the scene with large bright eyes…

“The Imperial client is obsessed with obtaining this asset. You tried to run,” He tells Mando, “but where did it get you?”

“You planned to kill us, why should we believe you now?!” You snap, prepared to pull the trigger.

Kuill steps in, “Perhaps you should let him speak.”

“Listen, we both need the client to be eliminated. Let me take the child to him and then you two-“ Karga attempted to placate-

“Not a chance!” You break in. There was no way in hell you were letting him take the child after what he just tried to pull.

Mando lowers his weapon, “He’s right.”

You stare at him. What? “Mando, he can’t take the kid!”

Mando holsters his blaster, “As long as the Imp lives, he’ll send hunters after the child.” He looks at Karga, “Bring me.”

“You?”

“Tell him you captured me. Get me close to him and I’ll kill him.” Mando explains as if it was the simplest thing in the universe.

Karga nods, “Good idea, give me your blaster.” Mando hands over his blaster as you look on stunned by this turn of events.

“This is insane!” You argue, trying to make him see sense.

“It’s the only way.”

You weren’t letting him go alone, “Well I’m coming with you.”

Karga argued, “No no no that would make them suspicious.”

You glare at him,“I don’t give a damn. I’m coming.”

Mando agreed, “Tell them she caught me. You did send her to get me after all.”

Karga threw up his hands in frustration, “Fine. She can bring the child.”

“No. The kid goes back in the ship.” Mando announces.

“But without the child, none of this works!”

Mando breaks him off and tells the plan. Kuill was to take the child back to the Razor Crest and we were to bring the pram as a ruse. The child will be out of harm’s way and we would be able to get close to the client. Kuill hands Mando a comlink, “I will keep the child safe.”

Karga placed Mando in cuffs and Kuill takes the child away. Gods you did not have a good feeling about this.

* * *

The ruse worked well all the way up until the client arrived. Whatever you were expecting, it was not this… an old shriveled man who speaks like he’s writing a novel. Karga kept up the banter like a pro… but when the client requested to see the child the tension was palpable.

“Open the pram.” The client requests again.

A Stormtrooper leans down and whispers something into the client’s ear. The client returns his attention to Karga, “Don’t think me to be rude. I must take this call.” Karga stands politely and nods.

The client goes over to the bar and you see Mando carefully remove his cuffs. You slowly hand Mando his blaster beneath the table and eye the enemies around you. There were more than four Stormtroopers… there were many more in the streets. At the sound of the first blast they are going to come running and chaos will erupt.

You lean towards Karga, “This is bad.” You hiss softly, “You said four.”

Karga did not meet your eyes, “Well there are more. What can I tell you?” You begin planning your shots. Mando was gonna take the client out, you and Karga provide cover. You see the client bent over a hologram, talking quietly to it.

Blaster fire erupts through the cantina window, taking down the client and his Stormtroopers. But Mando hadn’t fired… You dive down behind cover as rays shoot overhead. You low crawl to Mando taking cover behind a table as the blaster fire takes out all the enemies around you, including the bar droid.

“The fuck just happened?” You yell to Karga across the room after the firing ceases. Everyone was down but you three.

“You think I know?!” Karga shouts.

The silence hangs in the air. You move forward, taking position behind a pillar with a view of the blown out window. The blasts had come from outside. You see several dark Stormtroopers lined up in front of the cantina, their blasters aimed at you. More arrive in a shuttle, sufficiently surrounding the cantina. This was bad… very bad. All your exits were compromised and you were seriously outgunned and out manned. This was it…

“That’s a lot more than four Stormtroopers Karga!” You spat, checking your weapon reserves. You toss Mando one of your blaster refills, you had three left. It was doubtful you Mando and Karga had enough charges left to take out all of those Stormtroopers.

Mando gets on his comlink, “Kuill? Are you back at the ship yet? Are you there? Do you copy?”

Kuills voice came through the comm. _“Yes?”_

“Are you back to the ship yet?

_“Not yet.”_

“Get back to the ship and bail. Get the kid out of here. We’re pinned down!”

You close your eyes, sending up a silent prayer that he gets the kid out in time. Fuck this is so bad. If Kuill gets the kid out that’s all that matters. You look over at Mando, he was staring back at you. You were in this together. You both knew the risks that came along with this profession…

A whine filled the air and you look through the window and see a TIE Fighter hovering to land behind the formation of storm troopers. The ship opens and a man with an impressive cape steps out and walks towards the front of the formation. The newcomer seemed… almost bored by being there. He speaks… his voice carrying into the cantina easily.

“You have something I want.” Was the client obtaining the child for this man?

“Who’s this guy?” You wonder out loud. Karga shrugs.

“You may think you have some idea of what you are in possession of, but you do not.”

Mando hails Kuill again on the comlink, “Kuill, are you back to the ship yet? They’re onto us!... Kuill come in!”

“In a few moments, it will be mine.” The stranger declares. You stare at Mando, willing Kuill’s voice to come through assuring they have left Nevarro. You heart hammers in your chest. Why won’t Kuill respond?!

“Kuill do you copy!?”

“It means more to me than you will ever know.” Shut the fuck up!

Mando tries again, “Kuill! Are you there?! Come in Kuill! Kuill! Do you Copy?! Kuill!” Mando stares at the silent comlink…. Get it together… you don’t know what happened. Maybe the comlink went out? You rub the tears from your eyes and focus on the issue on hand. No news is good news. A lump forms in the pit of your stomach and you force your mind away from the child.

“He’s probably already… on the ship.” You try to sound unbothered, but the lie rang hollow in the silence. You close your eyes and breathe in deeply. You all needed to get out of here… now.

“Is there another way out?” You ask Karga. He shook his head, “No…” He points to the front door, “That’s it.” It led right to that army stationed in front of the cantina. Was there no back way?

Mando looked around, “What about the sewers?” At the uncomprehending looks Mando explains, “The Mandalorians have a covert down in the sewers. If we can get down there, they can help us escape.”

Finally something you could work with, “Yeah! Sewers are good!”

Mando locates one near the back of the cantina and you take one of the machine blasters and start firing away at the grate. It does nothing!

The stranger’s voice echoes in the wake of the blasts, “Your astute panic suggests that you understand your situation.” Mando goes back to the window and listens, “I would prefer to avoid any further violence, and encourage a moment of consideration. Members of my escort have completed assembly of an E-Web heavy repeating blaster.”

“If you are unfamiliar with this weapon, I am sure the decommissioned Mandalorian hunter, Din Djarin, has heard the songs of the Siege of Mandalore, when gunships outfitted with similar ordnance, laid waste to fields of Mandalorian recruits in The Night of a Thousand Tears.” You stare in disbelief at Mando… this man knew who he was. Mando was equally stunned… Who was this man?

What he says next shakes you to your very core… the stranger calls out your name, “To the daughter of the famed Bounty Hunter Boba Fett, Darth Vader’s most trusted Bounty Hunter in the Empire… would you not carry on in his footsteps? Join us and make your father proud.”

The words slammed into you. _Darth Vader_ … You’re father worked for the Empire… No No No No No No he’s lying! Dad didn’t work for the Empire. He was just a Bounty hunter! You refused to believe your father had been a tool of the Empire.

But the unknown stranger was not done yet, “I advise disgraced Magistrate Greef Karga to search the wisdom of his years, and urge you to lay down your arms and come outside. The structure you are trapped in will be razed in short order and your storied lives will come to an unceremonious end.”

Karga, ever the ambitious one, calls out to the stranger, “What do you propose?!”

You shoot him a glare and he shrugs, “We need to know our options.”

“Reasonable negotiation.”

“What assurance do you offer?”

“If you’re asking if you can trust me, you cannot. Just as you betrayed our business arrangement, I would gladly break any promise and watch you die at my hand. The assurance I give is this: I will act in my own self-interest, which at this time involves your cooperation and benefit. I will give you until nightfall, and then I will have the E-Web cannon open fire.”

The three of you watch as the stranger walks away, leaving his squad behind to guard the cantina. You sigh, “Well what do we do?”

“I say we hear him out.” Karga says with finality. You frown, “Of course you would. What’s going to stop him from killing us once he gets the kid?!”

Karga returns your glare, “You have it easier than we do ‘Daughter of Fett’! We all heard him ask you to join him. Looks like you have an easy way out of all of this!”

You shove Karga away from you, “I would never join him you sonofabitch! All he spews are lies! And you are delusional if you think he will let us live if we ‘cooperate’ with him!”

“Enough!” Mando yells, pushing between you and Karga. You retreat to the other side of the bar, glaring, “The moment we open that door we are dead.”

“We are dead in here, out there we’ve got a shot.” Karga shoots back.

“I say we shoot our way out…. Not bend over and take it.” You pull out your blaster and prime it. Karga laughs and turns to Mando, “What do you say Mando?”

Mando was quiet, his back against a damaged cantina pillar. You look up, something was wrong. You stepped forward, “Mando?”

“I know who he is.” Mando replies, “It’s Moff Gideon.”

Mando tells you and Greef about his past; how he was rescued by the Mandalorians and raised as a foundling. His name, which only you knew up until this point, had been kept secret since he was sworn in by the Mandalore creed. Moff Gideon knew his history, had known who he was. He knew who all of you were. Moff Gideon had contacts everywhere.

“Is he right about my father?” You ask them, “Did my father work for the Empire?”

The look sad Karga gave you was answer enough. Your heart dropped. “No…”

“That doesn’t mean anything.” Mando reassures, “It was a different time. It doesn’t reflect on you. Get it out of your head, it doesn’t matter.”

Mando paced, “He says he needs us, which means the child got away safely.” You mused over his words, he was right. Connection was lost with Kuill but you all were still alive. If they already had the kid there was no need for them to keep you alive.

“See if you can call Kuill again.” You suggest.

Mando attempts the comlink again. Everyone looks up at the sound of the child’s giggle echoes through the comm. You heart leap, “Oh my Gods…”

IG-11’s voice comes through, _“Kuill has been terminated.”_

“What did you do?” Mando asks the droid, anger apparent in his voice.

_“I am fulfilling my base function. To nurse and protect.”_

Everyone looks at each other, confused. “The kid is alive…” You breathe, focusing on that one good thing in this shit hole you’re in. The sound of blaster fire in the distance echoes through the village. Everyone rushes to the window to look out and see. The IG unit rides in on a land speeder, shooting at every Stormtrooper in its path. The child was strapped to its torso!

“Come on!” You yell, grabbing your blasters, “Now is our chance!”

Mando and Karga explode out of the cantina, guns blazing as they take the offense against the Ex-Empire scum. The gunshow was horrific. You could barely see who was firing at who but one thing was clear: your targets wore white armor and you lit them up. Blast after blast until your arms grew numb from the vibrations and then more. You see Moff Gideon take aim and shoot at Mando, the blast hitting him in the back of the helmet. He gets up and as he gets ready to shoot Gideon, Gideon fires at the fuel pod next to Mando. The clearing explodes in heat and fire, the shock sending Mando flying.

“MANDO!” You scream and rush out of the Cantina. Karga covered you as you grabbed Mando beneath his arms and used every ounce of strength in you to drag him into the cover of the cantina. You were able to get him propped up against a fallen table and take a look at him.

Mando didn’t immediately try to brush you off and stand… that’s when you knew something was very, very wrong. The IG Unit and the child took shelter within the Cantina, followed by Karga. Karga got the IG unit working on the grate to escape into the sewers.

Mando wasn’t moving, “Stay with me.” You urge, checking him over for injuries. There wasn’t any blood on his body, nothing seemed broken. He was just shaken up.

He stirred enough to face you, “I’m not gonna make it… Go.” What? No no no.

“Shut up. You’re just being dramatic. You’ll be fi-” You pull your hand away from where you cradled his head. Blood coated your fingers.

The beskar was not enough to protect him from the blast… a sinking feeling settled in your stomach. You stare at your blood covered hand in disbelief, this can’t be happening…

Mando took your hand in his, his grip weak, “You promised me. Take the child and go… he needs to be safe... Here-Fuck.” Mando swears as he reaches beneath his armor and pulls out the mythosaur insignia on a cord.

“When you get to the Mandalorian covert… you show them that.” He places the necklace in your hand, “You tell them it’s from Din Djarin.” You hear the pain in his voice, “You tell them the foundling was in my protection, and they’ll help you.”

Your worst fear was coming to life before your very eyes.

“No…” You whisper, bringing your face close to his, “I… can’t- I don’t want to lose you.” You plead, “I can’t leave you.” Mando reached a trembling hand up to your face and pulled you in close, embracing you, “You have… to.” His voice cracks in your ear.

A WHOOSH and a wave of heat slammed into the cantina. You look up and see a Stormtrooper with a flame thrower had broken through the door and was igniting everything in sight as it advanced towards you.

“Karga, the kid!” You scream, seeing the little idiot walking towards the Stormtrooper! Karga doesn’t move a muscle and you move to grab him away from danger, and freeze. You felt something hum in the air; the child raises his hands as a wall of flame aims right for him. The flame roils, halting before it touched the child. You look on in disbelief as the child… pushes the fire back to the Stormtrooper, annihilating the threat!

You grab the kid just as he faints from the exertion of what he just accomplished. You stare at him, willing the little badass to stay awake. He could heal Mando! But as you cradle the child to you, you know he doesn’t have anything left in him. You blink back tears as you bring him back to Mando.

“You protect the child…” Mando groans with the effort of speaking, “I can hold them back long enough for you to escape… Let me have a warriors death.”

Tears run down your face, you wish you could be strong for him… “I won’t leave you.”

“This is the Way.”

The heat became unbearable in the Cantina, everything was on fire, the smoke burning your eyes, “Go.” Mando says again, pushing you away from him weakly. You stand, cradling the child to your chest.

Karga and the IG unit succeeded with the grate, “We have to move! Now!” Karga held his hand out to you.

The IG Unit approached, “I will stay with the Mandalorian.” Bless this droid.

“Promise me you’ll bring him!”

“You have my word.”

You take one last look at Mando, you knelt down and kiss his helmet, “Stay alive!” You hiss at him. He says nothing… watching you and the child slip through the grate into the sewers.

Greef curses at the myriad of tunnels in the sewers, it was a maze down here. You hug the child to you, trying not to think of the man you had left behind. You felt numb, your body was on auto pilot as you follow Karga through the tunnels. Karga kept looking back at you, concern on his face until you snap at him, “What!”

He shook his head and you resume finding your way through the tunnels. Mando said the Mandalorian covert was down here. Shouldn’t you have bumped into one by now? The tunnels were eerily quiet. The echoing of your footsteps the only sound besides the constant dripping of moisture.

A clang echoed through the sewers.

You put the kid in the back on your back and pull out both blasters, Karga coming up beside you as you advance where the sounds had originated. Storm troopers had gotten into the sewers… a beam of light came into view and you sighted in.

A second before you fire, you see the IG unit and… Mando! Relief flooded you as you ran to them. Mando was upright, walking albeit unsteadily.

“I’m here.” He groans, leaning on the droid for support. You could celebrate after all of you survive this.

“Where is the covert?” Karga asked, “We’ve been wandering and have not found anyone.”

Mando points the way and you get moving.

* * *

Mando was quiet… you look over at him while the droid steered the boat down the lava river. You could feel his sadness at the discovery of the Mandalorian Coverts slaughter. His family, once again, was gone. The Armorer had done her best to alleviate the guilt Mando felt. If Mando had never stolen the child, then the covert would have never exposed themselves to save him… It was unknown how many were able to escape the slaughter…

The Mudhorn emblem shone bright and new on his shoulder. You caught him touching it thoughtfully several times already. The kid had opened his eyes after being asleep after his little flame throwing act. He was quiet, staring around… not uttering a sound. The kid was now Mando’s foundling… and Mando was as it’s father until his people could be found. A race of enemy sorcerers… you frown, trying to think of any race that you’ve come in contact with that matches that description. It wasn’t a whole lot to go off of. The Armorer couldn’t tell you where to even start looking.

Sweat dripped into your eyes and caused your clothing to stick uncomfortably to you. The Lava river tunnel was an oven. Karga looks equally as miserable.

“Look! That’s it! We’re free!” He points ahead.

The literal light at the end of the tunnel. But what Mando said next extinguished that hope, “No. No we’re not. Stormtroopers, theyre flanking the mouth of the tunnel. It looks like an entire platoon. They must know we’re coming.”

“Stop the boat.” You command the boat droid. He doesn’t comply, “Hey Droid! I said stop the boat! I said stop!” You pull your blaster and shoot its head off. The droid stops rowing… 

The boat keeps moving… the river flow pushing you closer and closer to the mouth of the tunnel and into enemy hands.

“We gotta fight.”

“There’s too many.” Mando replies.

IG-11 breaks in, “They will not be satisfied with anything less than the child. This is unacceptable. I will eliminate the enemy and you will escape.”

“You don’t have that kind of firepower, pal. None of us do. You wouldn’t even get to daylight.” Mando starts priming his blaster and you begin to do the same.

“I still have the security protocols from my manufacturer. If my designs are compromised, I must self-destruct.”

You look at the IG unit, “Like a bomb?”

“Affirmative. I am not permitted to be captured. I must be destroyed.”

For someone who hates droids, Mando was adamant the droid not self-destruct, “No, your job is to watch the child. Now grab a blaster and help us shoot our way out.”

“Victory through combat is impossible. We will be captured. The child will be lost.” The droid deadpans, “Sadly, there is no scenario where the child is saved, in which I survive. Tell me the child is safe in your care. If you do so, I can default to my secondary command.”

Mando continued to argue with the droid… but we were getting closer to the Stormtroopers… we were running out of options. You reach out and place a hand on Mando, stopping his protest. You look at him and shake your head, “You know this is our best chance.” You say softly. He had asked you to make a hard decision leaving him… now you have to do this for him. You look to IG-11.

“The child will be safe in our care.” You tell the nurse droid, deactivating his first command: To nurse and protect.

The droid stepped into the lava and walked to the entrance as you all look on sadly. He reached the opening…

The explosion rocked the boat. You shield the child from the blast. Then… silence. The boat clears through the exit. Stormtroopers litter the banks. The smell of burnt plastics and fuel heavy in the air. The IG unit had done it. The child was saved.

The boat drifts passed the wreckage the IG Unit had wrought. Kuill’s droid had saved you all.

The sound of a TIE fighter roared in your ears.

“Moff Gideon!” Mando shouts.

That sonofabitch! You pull your blaster, firing at the ship as it returns fire. It misses on its first dive. It wasn’t going to miss again. Your blasters were useless against it.

“I have an idea.” Mando grabs his new jet pack, sliding it into the harness onto his back. As Gideon was preparing for another fly by, Mando stood on the front of the boat, waiting. You held your breath as Gideon swopped down for another barrage and Mando exploded up in front of the TIE fighter. Mando shot a cable at the ship, attaching him. You lose sight of him and the ship. You grab the kid and you and Karga jump out of the boat and run for cover.

Two Stormtroopers appear in front of you, drawn by the sound of explosions. You fire, one after another, killing both before Karga even had time to draw his weapon.

“Nice one.” Karga comments.

You look up when you hear an explosion, and then another. You peek out from behind a rock formation, and see the Tie Fighter spinning out of control, smoke and flames billowing from a wing.

“He did it!” You celebrate. You and Karga watch as the ship crashes into the distance, “He did it… he fucking did it!” Karga shouts. The sound of Mando’s jet pack causes you and Karga to look up, and see Mando making a not so graceful decent. He needs some practice.

“That was very impressive Mando. Very impressive.” Karga laughs, “It looks like your Guild rates have just gone up.”

“Any more Stormtroopers?”

“There were two. She took care of them.” Karga claps you on the back, “I think we cleaned up the town. Need to get it back into business.”

“You returning it back into a Bounty Hunter hive?” Mando ask Karga.

He nods, “Most of my favorite people are bounty hunters. And I believe you would be the perfect assistant in helping me rebuild, Daughter of Fett.” Karga extends to you. “I need someone like you to help me get things back into working order.”

Stay? You look down at the kid in your arms; he stared up at you with his impossibly bright eyes and cooed, reaching up to touch your face. You tear your eyes away and look to Mando. He was still… so still. Gods for once in your life you wish you could read the expression on his face.

“It’s up to you…” Din says quietly.

You look back to Karga, patiently waiting for your answer.

You shake your head, “Thanks, but I have a pretty good partner, and you know good ones are hard to find.” Karga held up his hands, “Oh I know.” He shoots you a sly wink.

“Well in any case, both of you will be welcome back in the Guild with open arms. So go off, enjoy yourselves, and when you’re ready to return, you will have the pick of all the quarries.”

Mando nods and reached over to you, touching the child’s large ear gently, “I’m afraid I have more pressing matters at hand,” You smile when Mando looks to you. You nod and you turn to go back to the Razor Crest.

“Take care of that little guy you two.” Karga calls after you, “Or maybe, he’ll take care of you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates are not going to be out as often as I would like.  
> Due to the events going on in the world I'm working every day, no days off until 2020 decides to stop sucking so much.  
> Everyone stay safe out there!


	13. Canto Bight

Chapter 13

Canto Bight

You wanted to get off Nevarro as soon as possible. Mando was still suffering from his injuries and needed rest. You were exhausted, mentally, physically… and emotionally. One thing was for certain… the child is safe… for now. Now to find his people… whoever and wherever they may be.

The client and Moff Gideon… all seemed to be pawns of something much larger than you had originally thought. Some power out there wanted the little bogwing. Why? Neither you nor Mando could understand.

When you had returned to the Razor Crest… you spotted two shapes in the sand. The downed Blurgg caught your attention first… and then… Kuill.

No…

You rushed over to his still form and knelt checking for signs of life and found none. Those bastards had killed him. IG-11 had said he had been killed, but you hadn’t wanted to believe it. Seeing it for yourself was a punch to the gut. Din came up behind you, holding the child. You look up at him, “Do you think the kid could…” But Din was already shaking his head.

“He’s gone.”

Kuill’s death affected Din, you could hear the emotion in his voice. You couldn’t hold back the tears as you touched the old Ugnaught’s wrinkled head. He had done everything he could to save the child. You couldn’t leave him like this.

“We’re not leaving him here.” You tell Din, “We can’t.” To rot under the sun on a planet he does not know... uncared for and left for the desert creatures… You couldn’t!

“We’ll take him back to his home… he would’ve wanted that.” Arvala-7… Yes… he would like to be buried at his home.

Din sets course for Arvala-7 after bringing Kuill onto the ship. He was still injured and you took over piloting the ship out of the atmosphere until autopilot took over. You left Din alone… he had been through a lot on Nevarro. He lost his people for the second time and you couldn’t imagine the pain he was going through right now. When he felt like talking, you’ll be there, but for now you could tell he needed space.

The child was cleaned and put in his cubby. He went without protest, just as exhausted from the days events as you were. After showering you crawl into your own bed after autopilot was engaged and security protocols activated. When your head touched your pillow you were out like a light. A few hours go by and you rouse to the kid joining you beneath the sheets. You cuddle him close to you, humming a lullaby you used to sing to Cassian before you fell back into dreamless sleep.

When you next awoke, it was many hours later… many. You picked up your time keeper off the side table and looked. Damn you slept in… You must have been exhausted…the child too apparently. Lil froggy was still fast asleep in bed. You decide to leave him in the room and check the control room… it was empty. You sit in the captain’s chair for a while, watching the stars fly past. The silence of space muted by the humming of the electronics on the ship, but it created a nice white noise. You relax into the chair and close your eyes, absorbing the sounds and letting it quiet your thoughts. You don’t realize you had fallen back asleep until you felt a hand on your shoulder. You open your eyes and look up.

“We’re here.” Din says softly.

* * *

Kuill was laid to rest in his bed at his home on Arvala-7. You and Din debated whether you should set a pyre for him but ultimately you believed he would’ve liked to be left in his home. Both of you worked to seal the door and windows so he would remain undisturbed. You both toiled into the late hours of the evening on Kuill’s tomb before you were both satisfied. Kuill spent his whole life working off a debt to the Empire, and to be killed by the Empire’s troopers instead of living out the remainder of his life... It was so unfair. Life was unfair. His death hit you harder than you expected. It was a somber event, but you left Arvala-7 knowing you did right by him.

Din poured you both a drink when you got back on the ship. Glasses were raised in a toast to Kuill.

So long friend, rest easy knowing you had not died in vain.

Din decided the ship was to stay on Arvala-7 for the evening and depart in the morning. Throughout the day, you looked for any sign that Din was recovering. He took many breaks while helping you seal up Kuill’s tomb and seemed unsteady on his feet…. you worried. Din said IG-11 healed his wounds with bacta spray on Nevarro. Bacta spray could only do so much. He needed rest and a Mandalorian does not know how to rest apparently.

You leave dinner meal at Din’s door. He had been in there for over an hour, hopefully resting. You check on the kid and see him playing with his blocks again on the floor of your bedroom. You feed him and place him in his cubby. You sat outside the cubby, tracing your fingers over his face lightly and sing one of Cassian’s favorite lullabies. You like singing to the baby… sometimes you would wake up with a lullaby stuck in your head. It was keeping his memory alive and that was of comfort to you. The child’s large eyes closed and he fell asleep. Sleep well little one, and sleep in for once… please!

You go to your room, and look back, Din’s door remained closed but the food was gone. Good, he’s eating. You change and crawl beneath your sheets. Alone for the second night in a row… You scoff, feeling pathetic you craved his warmth next to you. Having his body next to yours, his heat, his touch, his scent… it was a sense of safety that you didn’t know you had desired.

His affection… you feel starved of it. Don’t go to him… let him come to you when he’s ready. Grabbing a pillow you place it behind you and back up into it. A poor substitute but you could close your eyes and imagine he was behind you.

You turn your head to look out of the small window in your room. The stars on this planet filled the small space. You send up a silent prayer for Kuill and close your eyes.

* * *

The blanket is pulled away from you and you roused, reaching out blindly to pull them back over you, “Hm?”

Strong arms slide beneath you and lift you off the bed. In your sleep addled haze you reach up, wrapping your arms around his neck, feeling the brush of his stubble against your cheek.

He’s here.

Din carries you out of you room and into his, using his elbow to shut the door on the control panel. He lays you down onto his bed and crawls in beside you without a word. You roll towards him as his arms wrap around you, holding you against him. You lay there, absorbing they feel of his embrace. His large warm hand slowly rubbing up and down your back, soothing. You lay a chaste kiss to his bare chest and nestle your head into the crook of his arm. 

It wasn’t long before you fell back to sleep under his gentle ministrations.

* * *

You drifted in and out of slumber. Waking up to feel his warm body pressed against yours… sometimes he would be awake; running his hand down your back and over your hip, other times he would be asleep, uttering soft snores. Your heart ached being with him in his unguarded state.

Din was caring… sweet… and still a complete mystery to you. There would always be a part of him that he kept from you but you didn’t mind. Maybe that’s why you found him so fascinating. In the dark silence of the night, thoughts come unbidden to your mind. You felt in your heart this wasn’t just a physical relationship…Everything you’ve shared together proves that. He likes you… and has told you such the first night you spent together.

You almost lost him on Nevarro… Din almost died saving you and the kid. He wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t care. And tonight, he wanted you in his bed… not for sex, but because he wanted you there. You had fallen asleep to him rubbing your back, kissing you, all without a word. His actions speak for themselves.

Gods help you… you love him.

You were so deep in your thoughts you hadn’t noticed Din’s snores had ceased a while ago.

“What are you thinking about?” He murmured, his chest rumbling beneath your hand.

Startled, you reply, “Nothing.” How long has he been awake? Your internal clock indicated dawn was still an hour or two away. How is he up so early?

Din chuckled, his hand sliding up through your hair, cradling it, “I can hear the gears turning in that mind of yours.” He tightens his hold, his fingers digging into your scalp. You almost groan at the tingle it sent down your spine. Gods help you; you couldn’t have a rational thought when he does that.

You decide that distracting him would be more fun than revealing the innermost workings of your thoughts. You run your fingers down the planes of his abdomen stopping right before you reach the band of his boxers. The fingers drift there, dancing over the sensitive skin of his groin but not touching it. The muscles beneath your fingers flex.

Din’s hands on you tighten at the feeling and you smile, “Now you know what I’m thinking.”

You slip beneath the band of his boxers, curling your fingers around his hard length. It didn’t seem to take much to get him ready… a light touch, a kiss…

“ _Mi’ona…_ ” He sighed before his mouth covered yours.

Using your free hand you pulled your bottoms down and guided him to you. “Please Din,” You whisper against his lips, “I want you.” The words had barely left you before he pushed himself on top of you, thrusting his boxers off and… slowly… fuck… slowly eased himself inside of you.

You wrapped your legs around his hips as he pulled out and pushed back inside you. Gods this man was going to drive you insane with want.

It was slow and deliberate.

Din was taking his time feeling you. His mouth covered yours, his tongue brushing against yours in a caress so deliberate, so unhurried… like you both had all the time in the world. His hands cradled your face, pulling you into his kiss before he angled your head away and trailed his mouth over the sensitive skin of your throat, nibbling and biting down on that favored spot. You arch into him, a gasp escaping you at the bolt of pleasure and pain. He loves to leave love bites on you… something about seeing them the next day satisfied him; you’re sure of it.

Slowly Din moved inside of you, barely pulling out before sliding back in. His hips rolled beneath your hands, the muscles of his ass flexing with the movement, grinding against your mound making you sigh and whimper in turns. This felt so different than before… Gods was this what making love felt like? It felt as if you could feel emotion with every roll and breath… Din’s lips slants over yours, drawing you into another deep kiss that you could feel it a nerve low in your abdomen. Gods help you…

“Din…” you breathed when one hand left your face and slipped between you. His thumb found your clit and made small circles as his hips ground into yours. Din’s own breathing was fast, signaling that he too was getting close. Din’s ministrations and movements dragged it out as you came shaking and quivering around him. His mouth covered yours, stifling your cries as he rode it with you. His body stiffened and he groaned your name as he came and you felt the throb of his release. He groaned into your neck… mumbling his secret words again…

_“Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum…”_

Your body felt heavy, your nerves buzzing dully from your own release.

Din’s facial hair rubbed against your cheek as he lay down beside you, panting softly. The both of you lay there, listening to the sound of each other’s breathing for who knows how long. Din shifts, resting his head on your chest, throwing an arm over your waist, pulling you into him. From what you’ve just experienced, he seemed recovered from his injuries on Nevarro. Din’s curly hair tickles your nose when you kiss his crown. There was a distinct raised bump on his scalp beneath your fingers when you threaded them through his curls.

“Does it hurt?”

“It throbs from time to time, but it feels better than it did yesterday.” Din mumbles into your chest. That was good. You had been hesitant asking about it but now you’re glad he is feeling better. He had almost died… you feel the prick of tears and blink them away, and kiss his brow again.

Din was alive and he was here with you. Stop thinking about what could have happened. It was easier said than done. You felt Din drift back to sleep, his little twitches signaling he was no longer conscious. Sighing, you close your eyes and put your arms around the man you love and pray with all your heart a day like Nevarro will never come again.

* * *

“I have a contact that I’ve been thinking of lately.” Din said one morning. You turn from the Caff maker, giving him your attention.

“Hm?”

“A trader that deals with exotic creatures. He does dealings with senators, royalty, and the ‘elite’ political figures… sells exotics creatures for their displays.” You sip from your black caff, listening, “I can reach out to him and see if he’s heard of or seen a creature like the kid. We need a lead… something to work off of.”

You nod, mulling it over, “Anything that can point us in the right direction … Any thoughts about these ‘sorcerers’ the Armorer spoke of?”

He shook his head, “I have people I can reach out to for information, but it needs to be done discreetly.”

“So…” You pull yourself up onto the counter and let your legs hang, “Where is this exotic creature contact located?”

“Canto Bight.” Of course it would be Canto Bight. The one place in the universe that had the high class members of society rubbing elbows with political figures, smugglers, those seeking to elevate their status and ones in underground black market dealings.

“When do we set course?”

Din steps forwards, placing his body between your knees and lays a hand on the outside of your thighs, his fingers curling into your soft flesh, “We can go now and be there by evening...” He pulls you into him. Your legs wrap around his waist, pressing that aching spot right against him…

You gave him a look, “Before… or after a bit of fun?”

“After…” Din plucks you from the counter and carries you to his room, “Definitely after.”

* * *

Well damn… it’s been ages since you’ve had an excuse to dress up. You eye yourself in the mirror, giving a little twirl to check your form. The scooped neck short sleeved black dress clung to your chest and hips wonderfully. The dress came to midcalf with a slit almost to the top of your thigh. Stars it was a sexy dress; just the thing to help you fit in on Canto Bight as deep pocket woman with class.

You hadn’t worn this thing in years and it still fits. When one goes to Canto Bight, you must dress up, especially when going to the Casino. Knowing you and Din would be away late into the night, you kept the kid from taking any naps during the day and kept him entertained. After he was fed dinner the little beast passed out straight away. You placed him in his cubby and left to get ready.

Shower, change, and you spent an embarrassing amount of time on your hair. You look at your face and decide a smidge of makeup to accentuate your looks wouldn’t hurt. A coat of mascara, a coat of gloss on your lips and a light brush of blush on your cheeks. You look at the finished product and grin at your reflection.

That… is very much adequate.

Din waited for you outside the ship as your finish up. You glance out the window at the lights of Canto Bight and rush out, hitting the security system as you left. Din turned when he heard you come down the ramp.

You smile at him and strike a pose, “What do you think?”

“Uh…” Din looks you up and down, “I…You-look… great.” His gaze lingers on the slit in your dress, “Where’s um… do you have your blaster?”

You pull aside the slit in your dress, revealing a shapely thigh along with a thigh holster where one of your smaller blaster was concealed. You always carried. You enjoyed leaving Din speechless. You imagine him swallowing thickly beneath that helmet of his. He has seen you in the nude yes, but never done up as you were right now.

You walk up to him, threading your arm through his and you both head into the city. The city twinkled and the stars themselves seeming to hang lower, pulsing with white light. Music played, strings and drums and on either side of the streets and walkways amber lights dotted the way, illuminating the cafes and shops, all open for the night, already packed. It was beautiful.

“How will we know this contact of yours?” You ask, eyeing a window display as you pass. You catch yours and Mando’s reflection together in the glass. Quite a couple you two made, a Mandalorian and, by all appearance, a well-bred woman on his arm. You look at him, noticing his beskar was polished and bright. He had taken the time to clean up… you sniffed. He had put on cologne too! You didn’t know he had such a thing.

“He’s a human who favors the blackjack tables. Was able to make contact with him before we landed. He goes by the name ‘Skurk.’”

“Tell me more about him.”

“I’ve worked with him twice. Once was on Tatooine, you remember that insectoid story? Skurk wanted one and when I told him I was going to Tatooine on a job he asked if I could snag one for him. He paid me for my trouble of course but I never wanted to grab an insectoid again.”

“The last time was to track down an employee of his who stole from him. The guy had been skimming off orders in his books, equaling in a substantial amount of monetary loss. Skurk was not happy. I found the employee and turned him over. That was three years ago.”

The Canto Bight casino blazed bright in the distance. The music audible from where you and Mando ascended the stairs leading up to it. You loved Casinos. The music, the hustle and bustle of the patrons moving from table to table, laughing and drinking and gambling was intoxicating. You carried some credits on you from Greef Karga. The credits stored in a little black wrist wallet that was both functional and fashionable.

“You ready?” Mando asks as you stand at the entrance to the Casino.

You nod, sending him a wink, “Let’s go.”

Stepping into the Casino, your pride in your appearance diminishes. The women around you were ethereal beings that never knew poverty, hardship, or hard work. Their gowns were made of moonlight and stardust. You looked down at your own drab dress in contrast. You had been proud and now you felt cheap.

Mando noticed the change in your demeanor and leans down, “Mi’ona, you’re beautiful.”

He tightens his arm, placing his hand over yours where it rested on his forearm, “You’re the only woman out of all these flippants I would take to my bed.” He squeezed your hand reassuringly.

His words made you feel better and you held yourself straighter. You chide yourself for your earlier thoughts. No one could make you feel inferior without your permission.

Mando led you through the patrons and the tables looking for the blackjack area. All species of the galaxies seem to be present at this casino. It was a very intergalactic destination. A passing gentleman makes eye contact and gives you an appreciative once over before moving on. Hmm, ok. Mando wasn’t just being sweet. You must look good.

You notice equally appreciative looks from both males and females cast in Mando’s direction. Whether they were admiring the beskar, or noting a Mandalorian was in their presence… you couldn’t tell.

The blackjack tables were teaming with players. Mando and you wait on the outskirts looking for Skurk. You couldn’t see much but the people standing in front of you. So it was up to Mando’s height to be able to spot the contact. Since you couldn’t look at the blackjack tables, you look around at the other tables. People and species intermingled as they gambled. All wearing expensive garb and putting on airs. Many eyes travel in Mando’s direction, and when they see you looking at them they avert their eyes. Mando could never blend in; he would always stick out like a shiny sore thumb.

“He may not be here yet.” Mando says.

He follows your gaze, “If you want to partake don’t let me stop you. I’ll come get you when I see him.” He nods when you look up to him, “Go. Have some fun.” He hands you a commlink, “Call me if you think you found him.” You take the commlink and slide it into your wrist purse.

Bless you Din. You remove your arm from his and head towards the money man to exchange your coin for tokens. You’ve been to the Canto Bight casino a handful of times in the past but never with as much money as you carry now. You take a glass of champagne and park yourself in front of one of the slot machines and play.

Fifteen minutes later you had almost doubled your earnings! You heart hammers at the amount of money you now carry. It wasn’t a crazy amount, but you instantly felt that Lady Luck was on your side. You pocket the money you started with and only play with your winnings. A lesson you learned from your father so no matter how much you lose, you still walk out of the casino with as much as you started with.

“More champagne miss?” A caterer sidles up to your seat, displaying an assortment of delicate finger foods and glasses of clear liquid.

You select a snail in its shell and a glass, placing a token as a tip onto the tray. “Thank you.” You slurp down the snail and give a _very_ unladylike groan at the flood of flavor. The caterer bows and moves on to the next patron.

_Kriff that’s a good snail_. You take a sip from your champagne and decide that you had enough luck at this particular slot machine. You look over at Mando, still at the black jack table. He would not be allowed to play, for the dealer and patrons would wonder if the technology in his helmet could read the cards before they were played. You needed to test that theory. A game of cards on the ship to help pass the time in a… clothed manner… unless Mando agrees to a game of strip poker… hmmm.

The hair on the back of your nape prickles.

You continue to move between the tables in a nonchalant manner. Someone was watching you again… just like on Takodana. You sip from your champagne and pretend to choose a new slot machine to try. You look around the Casino, seeing if anyone was looking at you or in your direction. You glance over at Mando. He was facing the blackjack tables. You remember what Mando said last time, could just be someone admiring the view… but you’re not that vain.

Someone is watching you.

You insert a token into the machine and wait as the pictures flash before you in a musical tune, but you weren’t paying attention. You stand when you see you weren’t lucky and move again to another seat. Using your peripherals to see who shifts in time with you. Nothing. You walk to the bar and sit, waiting for the bartender to notice you. The feeling remained… the skin on the back of your neck prickled as you stare into the bar’s mirror, watching. The bartender notices you and asks what you’d like.

“Tonic and a fruit wedge please.” You request politely. You take your non–alcoholic drink and leave the bar. If you were going to find who was tailing you, you need to disappear and see who goes looking for you. You make your way down a less populated area of the Casino, making yourself look lost as you meander your way through the hallways in the back of the Casino. When you’re sure no one is watching you, you back up into an alcove and wait. You unholster the blaster from your thigh and hold it at the high ready.

A minute passes… and then two. Nothing. You’re about to step out from the alcove until the sound of footsteps stop you. You pull back, breath held. A dark man with curly black hair passes by you, looking around. You didn’t see his face, but his mannerisms definitely clued you in he’s looking for something, or someone. Something about him struck you as vaguely familiar.

You were going to stay hidden, until you heard him muttering, “Fuck… where’d she go?” So he was looking for you! You slip behind him, throwing an arm around his neck and holding your blaster to his temple, “Who the fuck are you and why are you following me?!” You hissed, pulling him back to you to offset his balance.

The stranger’s hands immediately fly up, “Don’t shoot.”

That voice…

You push him away from you and stare dumbfounded as Cassian’s father turns and faces you, “It’s been a long time, Fett…”

“… Ko’en?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> It's going to be a week or two until I update... maybe more. Please let me know if you are enjoying the story. I love comments!  
> 


	14. Ko'en

Chapter 14

Ko'en

Next thing you knew… Ko’en was sprawled on the ground holding his face.

Your fist ached.

The commlinks crackling broke through the tense silence.

“ _Where are you? I found him.”_ Fucking perfect.

You didn’t have time for this right now.

You pointed your blaster at Ko’en’s downed form, daring him to make a move as you muttered into the commlink, “I’ll be there when I can. Carry on without me.”

You glared at the sorry excuse for a man in front of you. Ko’en's large dark eyes stared at you warily.

“What the fuck are you doing here? Isn’t there a price on your head?” He was supposed to be in hiding, far enough away for you to have never seen him again. It was only a year ago that you sat at Karga’s table, feeling sick to your stomach as Ko’en’s hologramed image rotated before you on a bounty puck.

Ko’en held a hand up, looking like he now regretted seeking you out. Whatever homecoming he had been expecting, this was not it.

He wiped blood from his split lip, “I paid off my debt to the Hutts. I’m a free man.” He dared to smile at you, giving you a long look, “I see you haven’t changed a bit. You look good-”

“No, you don’t get to act like nothing happened you sonofabitch! Why are you here?!” You didn’t lower your blaster. Motherfucker thinks he could give you a look and you would come to heel? Delusional ass.

But blood roared in your ears… Of all the people in the galaxy, he was the last one you ever expected to see again. 6 years… he left when you found out you were pregnant and had been gone ever since, no word, nothing. And he turns up out of nowhere.

“I-I’m here with my boss… I saw you at the tables and… well… I couldn’t believe it was you. What are you doing here?”

“That’s none of your fucking business.” You hissed, “Stay the fuck away from me if you know what’s good for you.”

Ignoring the blaster pointed at him, Ko’en picked himself off the floor and brushed himself off smartly. You didn’t back away nor did you take your blaster off him. You took a moment and looked him over while he was distracted… trying to see the man you had known all those years ago. Your heart felt like a lead weight in your chest at the sight of him.

The years have not been kind to him. He was your age but now he looked older. There was a hardness in his eyes that wasn’t there before. He was dressed in a crisp white dress shirt and black slacks, looking more like a caterer than a true gentleman. Memories coming unbidden to your mind…Nights at the bar drinking and flirting, your first kiss, bringing in a bounty together and the nights spent in each other’s arms.

You shoved those memories away and forced yourself to remember that day you told him you were pregnant.

_You were at his ship, a dingy little thing that needed repairs every other day. Ko’en was back from another bounty scout that was unsuccessful. He was in a bad mood. Time and fuel credits wasted._

_You were nervous, but optimistic that this news would make him happy._

_Gods you were so stupid._

_Ko’en's back was to you, looking over his money ledgers and cursing. You snuck up behind him and placed a hand on his backside and squeezed, "Hey handsome."_

_He jumped, knocking his ledger onto the floor and cursed again, whirling to face you, "Now look what you made me do." He huffed as he bent to pick it off the floor. You stepped back; uncertain if now was the right time. But you hadn't seen each other in weeks and soon… soon you will start showing. Mom and Dad don't know yet, you wanted to tell Ko’en first. You knew you both should’ve been more careful, but a child had been the last thing on your minds when you came together._

_"Oh C'mon Ko" You flashed him one of your best smiles and sauntered up next to him, "Is that how you're going to say hello?" You leaned forward and placed a kiss on his check. He turned his head, his lips met yours._

_"Sorry… Hey." Now that was better._

_You pulled away, looking him in the eyes, "I have something to tell you." He allowed you to push him into his captain's chair._

_"Do you have a job you need help with?" He asked, interested. You know he was thinking about a bounty. But you decide to roll with it._

_"I do."_

_"Great. What are the details?"_

_"It's not for anytime soon… maybe 6 months from now-" Ko’en frowned but you continued, eager to tell him, "It's a job we've never talked about before but I'm sure we can do anything…"_

_You smiled and placed your hands over your growing belly, "Because we are going to be parents! I'm pregnant!"_

_You watched the emotions flit of Ko’en's face… realization… and then… horror._

_Your heart fell into a dark pit as Ko’en started yelling at you. Every word was like a knife to your heart… leaving you numb and bleeding…_

_"How could you be pregnant?!"_

_"Are you sure it's mine?!"_

_"This better be a fucking joke!"_

_"I can't be a father!"_

_This couldn't be happening… You had hoped he would be happy… He said he loved you._

_Ko’en left Elenta that night and never returned… leaving you alone to raise a child without a father._

That same coward was in front of you now. You were young and dumb back then but you had to grow up. He was the same man that left you all those years ago. You got a handle on your emotions and glared daggers at him, “Stay the fuck away from me. You don’t deserve a moment of my time.” You holstered your blaster, pretending you don’t see him look at the slit in your dress as you do so.

You turned and left Ko’en in the hall, barely making it to the casino’s refresher before a sob rips from your throat. You closed yourself in a stall and cry.

* * *

When you were able to compose yourself and touch up your makeup you left the refresher in search of Mando. You found him with a tall slender man on the outskirts of the black jack tables. You pushed down the emotion roiling in you and plastered on a bland pleasant face. Mando looked over when he saw you approach. Immediately he could tell something was wrong. You shook your head and instead, placed all your attention to his contact, Skurk.

Skurk was dressed impeccably in a nice suit. His long hair pulled back in a long ponytail that hung low on his back and a face that looked carved from granite. You estimated him to be in his fifties. He looked the type of man that wasn’t used to being denied anything. 

He took your hand and bowed over it, “A pleasure.”

He kissed your knuckles and you nodded, “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Now that the formalities were over you could get to your main purpose. You felt Mando’s eyes on you but you ignored it.

“I hear you are an expert when it comes to all species in the galaxy.”

“Ah my reputation precedes me. Yes, I am an avid researcher and collector of all things strange in this universe of ours.”

“Has Mando had the chance to explain what we are looking for?”

Mando stepped forward, “Not yet. If we could talk privately?” He gestured outside to the balcony overlooking the Fatheir track.

Skurk turned back to scan the crowd, “My assistant seems to have gotten lost in the excitement. Ah… there he is. Ko’en!”

No… No… No…

Gods could this night get any worse? Ko’en stepped beside Skurk, “Apologies for the delay Master, I was catching up with this fine lady here.”

You son of a bitch.

“Oh you are acquainted?... What happened to your face?”

“Not worth mentioning.” You butted in quickly. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Mando watching you.

Skurk frowned but continued, “Ko’en has been my trusted assistant for the past few months. Very adept at collecting species for my collection.”

Ko’en exchanged bounty hunting for collection work? Didn’t seem like him, but what do you know. This means nothing, he means nothing. Ko’en locked eyes with you and smirked. It took everything in you not to punch him again in his stupid face. You and Mando followed Skurk and Ko’en to the open air balcony. A hand touches your back and you glance at Mando.

“I’m fine.” You muttered under your breath. His hand leaves and you forced yourself to focus on Skurk’s words.

“Tell me about this creature you’ve acquired?”

Between you and Mando, you’re able to describe the kid, leaving out his special abilities of course.

“Hm.” Skurk mulls your words over, “It must be very rare.” Skurk doesn’t look convinced, probably thinking we found something unremarkable and are wasting his time.

Ko’en’s eyes traveled from you to Mando, giving him the once over before giving you a pointed look… Gods give you strength.

“I would like to see it of course.” Skurk decided. You knew he was going to ask. Mando agrees and a time is set for Skurk to come to the ship to analyze the child in the morning. You were uneasy about having a stranger come see the child but knew it was unavoidable at this point.

Skurk concluded the short meeting with promises of tomorrow. You were grateful it was over, at least for now. You could only hold your emotions back for so long. Ko’en’s attention was on you constantly, watching you with a small smile twitching the corners of his lips. What was his fucking deal? The warm night air did nothing to stave off the shiver that trembled up your back.

Skurk bowed shortly, “Enjoy the rest of your evening.” He turned and went back inside the casino, Ko’en following after him, but not after shooting you his signature cocky smirk.

You breathed out when you and Mando were left alone on the balcony. The tension left your shoulders and you relaxed against the railing, turning and watching the Fatheirs below. You felt, rather than see Mando come up behind you. You didn’t look up… The crowd below cheered and cried out as the Fatheirs thundered past the stands. The vibrations from the stampede made it up to the balcony. The banister shook beneath your palms. A gloved hand covered yours, and squeezed. You look at it and take it in yours, the leather warm to the touch. He doesn’t say anything… knowing something is wrong but only offering comfort for now. You didn’t need questions right now. Not here... not in public. You couldn’t sort your emotions right now… Bottle them up until you have the privacy to deal with them.

“Can we go?” You ask him, looking up into his helm. He nods and you both leave the casino.

* * *

“Something is bothering you.” Din murmured into your hair, “What’s wrong? You’re upset… tell me.”

The walk back to the ship had been silent. You couldn’t spare the energy to attempt small talk. You doubted you could’ve managed it. The tightness in your throat hadn’t lessened on the walk back. Seeing Ko’en had sent your world reeling on its axis. You crammed your fists into your eyes, frustrated and angry at the twist this night took.

Back on the ship you came to Din in a frenzy. You needed him… needed his distraction. He had been taken aback but gave it to you readily. You needed rough, you needed pain, you needed to hurt afterwards. Sweat soaked and nerves buzzing, you felt fulfilled. Until now… Din’s words brought everything back to the surface.

Din took you by your shoulders and pulled you down into his arms. You relented, letting him draw you in. You’re glad it was dark, so he couldn’t see your tears. You couldn’t believe you were crying because that asshole. Seeing him pulled up so many memories that you had kept buried deep down for all these years.

Din said your name again, “Tell me what’s wrong.” He brushed your hair off your neck and kissed your shoulder.

He needed to know. You’ll be working with them tomorrow and if you don’t tell him now…

You took a deep breath, “Skurk’s assistant… Ko’en, he… he was Cassian’s father.”

Whatever Din had expected, it wasn’t that.

“Oh…”

After an awkward moment, Din shifted behind you and pulled you closer to his body until you were seated between his outstretched legs. What was he thinking? Gods what were you thinking?! You lay against a man you love with all your thoughts occupied by another? You had just used him… used his body to help forget another man… It was so wrong. It wasn’t fair to him.

You pulled yourself from Din embrace and got off his bed, “I’m sorry… I… I need to be alone right now.” You were grateful for the dark at that moment. He shouldn’t see you like this. You retreated into yourself, telling yourself you didn’t feel his touch on your arm when you left his side. You couldn’t process these feelings with him around. You crawl into your bed and cry yourself to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> Sorry for the short chapter but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer. I'm hoping to be posting another chapter soon. Hope everyone is doing well!  
> Please leave a review, they keep me going. I love to know there are people out there reading it and enjoying it. Helps keep me going and typing even when I don't feel like it.  
> 


	15. Wookie

Chapter 15

Wookie

You knew it was unfair to Din for you to keep him out… but you didn’t know how to process this on your own, much less share what you’re feeling with him. The father of your dead child shows up out of nowhere with no warning whatsoever and it turned your world upside down. You’d been able to control yourself to a certain degree there in the casino. But nightfall tends to bring suppressed memories and feelings to the surface.

You wanted to cry in the comfort of Din’s arms… but didn’t want him to see you like that. Crying over one man while in another’s arms is another brand of fucked up. You swallowed the lump in your throat and rub your eyes. Without looking in the mirror you could feel how swollen they are.

Great.

You wanted nothing more than to lie in your bed all day but you have to come out at some point.

Skurk and Ko’en were coming today.

Fuck. 

You sat up in bed and groaned. Maybe Din could deal with it? He was more than able to handle the meeting but if Ko’en came and didn’t see you he would think you were hiding from him. You couldn’t let that happen. You hated feeling this way… so fucked up.

_Unfuck yourself. Get it together. You can’t be in your feelings forever. Snap out of it._

Determined, you grab a change of clothes and go to the refresher. While inside, you hear the child and Din talking to each other. You stopped to listen. The child giggled and babbled his baby talk, sounding quite sassy. Din’s voice was mumbled, indiscernible through the refresher’s wall. The child replied, loudly and with more attitude. Din grumbled audibly, sounding frustrated. You bite your lip to keep from laughing at the exchange.

It was rare to catch Din interacting with the kid without you being involved. He liked the kid… he cared for him. Why else would he have risked his life time and time again to ensure his safety? The kid was cute and had an effect on most people that came across him… maybe that was another gift he had? Din was sent to retrieve the kid for that Ex-Imperial warlord and even though he initially turned him in, he went back after him, knowing a bounty would then be on his head for his actions. He did it anyway. He cared for the kid, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

* * *

Skurk and Ko’en arrived just when you had mustered the courage to approach Din about the previous day. Part of you was relieved… and disappointed in their timing. It gave you more time to sort out what was going on with you before trying to begin to explain it to Din.

But in a way it worked out… for now.

Din announced their arrival when you entered the control room, the child cooing softly in your arms. You hesitated in the doorway, the words you were prepared to say dying on your tongue.

Din left his chair, and he made to walk past but stopped and looked over at you… He took a step back and looked at the open doorway and then back at you. The decision made him hesitate…

You weren’t aware how taut your body was until Din reached out a hand and brushed the hair from your temple before he walked through the doorway.

You clutched the kid to your chest, eyes closed in relief. He extended an olive branch.

Skurk and Ko’en are here, you need to deal with that now, Din later. You take a deep breath, feeling more solid than you did before.

* * *

You and Mando meet them outside the Crest. The early morning air was heavy with mist, causing a damp chill to cling to your exposed arms. In a few hours one of the planet’s suns with rise high enough to burn off the marine layer and the skies will be clear enough to see for miles. With the ship being parked so close to the ocean, the faint sound of waves could be heard. It was peaceful sound… one that did little to calm the anxiety fluttering in your chest at the arrival of Ko’en and his master.

Mando approached Skurk and you hung back with the kid. Skurk was dressed similarly to his garb from the previous evening. Ko’en was dressed more comfortably, closely resembling his outfit from his bounty hunting days. The familiarity of it hit a nerve and you swallowed the lump in your throat. You got this.

Skurk and Mando approached you and you let Skurk look at the kid.

Skurk was astounded by the child, his eyes roving over him calculatingly from his ears down to his three toed feet.

“My word… I never thought I would come across a being I have yet to discover…” Skurk murmured. Ko’en peered over Skurk’s shoulder to get a look. Ko’en’s eyes widened, surprised as well. Mando stood to the side, keeping an eye on both of them. You catch his look and Mando nods, signaling it was alright.

Skurk reached into his pocket and pulled out a measuring rope, “Ko’en take notes.”

Ko’en pulled out a small notebook, waiting for Skurk’s dictations.

The kid eyed Skurk curiously as Skurk measured his ears and head, asking you additional questions as he did so.

“How old is he?”

“We were told he’s 50.”

“Ahhh a slow aging species… fascinating. What type of food does he eat?”

You adjust your hold on the kid to assist Skurk with his measurements, “Anything he can get his hands on really… He liked frogs, fish, small lizards… eats them live. He prefers meat, even cooked. He eats a lot.”

“Interesting… Ko’en write that down.” Skurk moved his hand to open the kid’s mouth before you could stop him.

“Let’s see how many teeth you ha-OW!” He snatched his hand away angrily. You jumped back with the kid out of reach. Skurk cradled his wounded appendage to him.

Ko’en sniggered and Skurk whirled on him. You couldn’t see Skurk’s face, only Ko’en’s reaction. His face went white, staring at Skurk mute horror.

He looked… terrified? He looked down at the notebook, “Apologies Master.” Ko’en mumbled, chastened.

You glanced at Mando, who looked on impassively.

The air of scientific investigation was now tainted with weird tension. It was a moment before Skurk turned back around to continue his inquiry.

“I’ll tell you how many teeth he has.” You say pleasantly. Skurk’s smile didn’t reach his eyes, “Please? And can you tell me how they are fashioned as well?”

You count the kids teeth and describe them to Skurk as Ko’en notated everything down.

“Does he have above average hearing with those large ears?”

You shrugged, “I haven’t really noticed.”

Skurk then initiates a series of experiments to determine the kids range of hearing. Going off into the woods and making a loud noise at varying distances. Anytime the kid’s ears twitch at the noise you would tell him. At the end of the experiment, you learned that the kid did in fact have excellent hearing. He could hear noises from a great distance. Hm… You would have to talk to Mando about creating a sound proof cubby for the kid.

The experimentation drew to a close when the kid became irritated by all the attention and began to cry.

“He must be hungry.” You said by way of an apology when the kid started fussing. You cooed to him, rubbing a finger along the ridges of his face and rocked him while Mando and Skurk conversed in private.

You felt eyes on you and look up to see Ko’en was watching you rock the kid with a peculiar expression on his face. His familiar cocky demeanor had been strangely absent today you’d noticed. The swagger and arrogance you witnessed last night was gone.

What changed?

Ko’en opened his mouth about to say something, before he reconsidered and closed it again. He looked away, seeming to go through his notes from the day. What was he about to say?

No.

You don’t care… you decide as you turned and went inside the Razor Crest. The kid actually was hungry. He put away the leftovers from the previous night’s meal and you put him in your room to play with his toys.

Din appeared in your doorway and motioned for you to follow him. In the small kitchen he revealed that Skurk does not know the kids species. But Skurk would like to continue the tests in order to log the results into a master database he had created to compare samples with other species that specialists have found in the galaxy.

Not the outcome you had hoped for.

“So we have to stay here?”

Din nodded, “Not for long I imagine. He’s the only chance we have to find out what the kid is and return him to where he belongs.”

This meant more contact with Skurk and Ko’en. It would’ve been too good to be true if Skurk had been able to identify the kid today. It was awkward after the kid bit Skurk…You brought up the biting incident to Din.

“Wasn’t that weird?” Ko’en’s terrified look when Skurk stared at him… The image wouldn’t leave you.

“It was unprofessional to laugh at his Master.” Din shrugged, not understanding your point, “I’ve seen men killed for slights, especially ones made in public.”

Hmmm… you nibbled on your lip trying to see his logic. It was possible. But you couldn’t shake that even though it was improper, Skurk’s reaction frightened Ko’en.

Din tilted his head, watching you, “Are you… concerned for him?”

“What?” You shake out of your thoughts and look over at him. Were you concerned? No… Maybe?

“I just think it was weird that’s all...”

The silence hangs heavy between you. As much as you wanted to avoid talking about it, you knew it needed to be brought up.

You pulled yourself up onto the counter and sit with your legs hanging over the edge and sighed. Din leans against his side of the counter and waits patiently.

You struggle to find what to say… again… and again. Your face burned with frustration at your inability to form your thoughts into words. Din sees your difficulty and breaks the silence.

“You haven’t seen him in years… I can imagine it shocking to see a ghost from your past.” Giving you a point to begin.

“Yeah… at the casino I felt someone watching me…” You tell Din how you went down an unoccupied hallway and snuck up on him.

“When I saw it was him… I punched him… and told him to stay away from me.”

A small laugh escaped Din and you smiled wanly.

“Was he the one you sensed watching you on Takodana?” That thought had occurred to you as well.

“I don’t know. I didn’t think to ask… I was so rattled seeing him after all this time. He explained that his debt to the Hutt’s had been paid off and he was employed, now knowing he’s employed by your contact we came here to see.” You pick at the skin around your nails, trying to find what to say next.

“Did he do something to upset you?”

“Besides leaving me to raise a child on my own?” You sniffed, “He didn’t really do anything but be his frustrating ass-self last night. Flirting like nothing happened.” You pulled a hangnail to the quick and hissed, putting the offended digit in your mouth. You suck on the finger and pull it out, inspecting it.

You knew you were stalling.

You put the hand down, clasping your fists between your knees and look at the floor beneath your dangling feet.

“I’m… angry.” You admitted, the words coming out faster and faster, “He got to leave without any consequences. He didn’t go through what I went through… He didn’t have to live with losing a child.” You blink away the sting of tears and go on bitterly, “Life went on for him. I loved him… I fucking loved him and that piece of shit discarded me like trash when I told him he was going to be a father. Seeing him after all this time made me remember what I’ve tried so hard to forget.”

That wound was torn open, bleeding pain all over again with Ko’en’s appearance. The night you told him about the pregnancy and his rejection… his departure leaving you to do it alone… You were in a bad place after that.

You had wondered what was wrong with you to make Ko’en leave after you had confessed your love for each other.

You saw yourself as worthless.

Telling Mom and Dad you were pregnant and the father was not going to be in your lives was one of the hardest things you did.

Dad had flown into a rage, yelling and shouting how could you have been so stupid to ruin your life like that. Mom sat in the corner of the room, crying. Dad said your days as a bounty hunter were over, you were sullied and a disgrace.

After the initial shock of your announcement wore off, Dad came to your small apartment across the village and apologized. He held you as you cried over your broken heart and the fear of the unknown yet to come. He didn’t want you to give up your job and after Cassian was born he retired so you could work and he and Mom took care of the baby. He became the father figure to your son… filling in the position Ko’en had abandoned.

“Do you still… have feelings for him?”

A laugh escaped you, “Anything I felt for him died that night.”

You cleared your throat and sat up straight on the counter, looking at Din head on, “I’m really sorry for last night… I was in a weird place. I know it doesn’t excuse it… but I’m sorry for leaving like that.”

Din pushed himself off the counter stepped in front of you. You look up into his helm, looking into where you picture his eyes would be. His arms enveloped you in a warm embrace, his hand holding your head to his plated chest. You went limp, the tension in your body leaving as Din’s hold on your tightened. Tears threatened to fall but you kept them in, focusing on the man who has shown he truly cares for you.

“I’ve told you before… I can’t imagine the pain of losing a child. It’s something I could not even begin to fathom.” He mutters into your hair, a hand rubbing down your back, soothing, “I don’t want you to feel that you need to hide anything from me _Mi’ona_. Whatever you need from me you’ll have.” Din pulled your head away from his chest, holding your face before him and runs his gloved thumb over your cheek, wiping your tears away. _Gods…_ _thank you for bringing this man into my life._

You blink away your tears and nod, “’kay.”

“C’mere.” Din’s arms slipped beneath you and picked you off the counter and carried you to his room. The door closed, plunging the room into darkness and you removed his helmet and crashed your lips to his. The helmet thumped to the ground, discarded amid the clothes that soon followed. You caught your breath when a warm mouth closed over a heavy breast. _Gods_ this man’s mouth was sent by the devil, making you crave sinful things.

“Din… _fuck_.” You groaned when he pinned your hands over your head to the wall. His breath came fast as he grunted when you thrust your hips into his, feeling him hard against your abdomen. You sway your hips into his and pull away, barely touching him, teasing. His mouth crashed against yours, pushing his whole body to you now. The hair on his chest tickled yours, the smell of his sweat and body an intoxicating scent that you wish you keep with you always. A tongue pushed through your lips and touched yours, the muscle pushing and caressing, sending bolts of pleasure down deep.

Does this feeling ever go away?

You doubt it, you are a woman addicted.

His smell.

His touch.

His voice.

The sincerity in his affection… You didn’t get the sense he was after something when he was being nice or doing something for you. You didn’t deserve this… you don’t deserve him and yet here he is. The most fucked up job you’d ever agree to led you to this man. Months ago you were bound and defenseless in a cart, waiting for the beskar covered Mandalorian to raise a blaster and black hole you.

Now, his tongue was in your mouth and your legs were spread for him in anticipation.

Oh how the times have change…

“ _Mi’ona_?” Din breathes, his hands releasing yours to come down your arms and cradle your face, holding you there, his lips mere millimeters away from yours. He touched you so tenderly, so sweetly.

“I’m your _Mi’ona_. Yours, Din.” You lean off the wall and kiss him. Your admission startled you, you never considered yourself belonging to anyone. You weren’t his property, but your heart belonged to him. Whether he returned it or not… you loved him. You wanted to tell him… but no. Don’t ruin this like you did last time.

Din’s open mouth kisses trailed down your collar, your chest, stomach…. hiiiips!

The first touch of his tongue between your legs caused you to cry out in surprise and seize his head in your hands, holding his head still as a warm tongue darts out and teases your clit at the apex of your sensitive slit. Your legs tremored with the strain to remain upright beneath his ministrations.

“Don’t… don’t hide from me.” He growls, gripping your hips and pulling you forward and delving his face fully into your pussy, assaulting the tender flesh with the temper of a man starved.

The noise you made was the _most_ unladylike of all sounds.

If a Wookie was nearby… it would’ve come running to your rescue.

Din was neither deterred nor put off by your reaction, but that didn’t matter… you’re gonna throw yourself into the first available Sarlacc pit.

The most attractive man you’ve _never even seen_ had just heard that! Your face burned with embarrassment. You felt Din smile against your thigh before he nipped the tender inner flesh, “Hmm… what was that?” he puffed a cool jet of air right at your clit, making you spasm.

“I wanna hear that again...”

Before you could pull away, Din maneuvered your thighs over his shoulders and straightened, lifting you off the ground, stabilized by the wall behind you. You yelped, your hand braced against the wall and ceiling. What the hell?! “ _AHhhh!”_ Din dove face first back between your legs. Your legs wrapped around his broad shoulders, seeking stability in this chaotic posi…ti…on.

“ _Uuhhhnnn”_ Your eyes rolled back in your skull, his arms once again threading through yours to plant you firmly against the wall, immobile as you were subjected to his attentions.

You fucking loved it.

The noises he emitted, the bruising his fingers and mouth left on your skin… the slick between your thighs; evidence of his effect on you…you loved it all.

His tongue buried deep inside you, his nose brushing against the knot of nerves had you reaching for your climax. You panted, the pleasure coiling, winding inside you. Din heard the change in your breathing and… stopped!?

“-Hey!” You protested, pushing your hips forward to regain contact. Din lowered you, guiding your legs to wrap around his hips, still pressing you into the wall.

“ _Udesii…_ hush _Mi’ona_.” He pushed up, driving his thick cock right where it was needed. You arch into him, whimpering at the deep ache his length caused inside you. So full… stretched around him. You cross your ankles over his ass and feel it flex, driving himself further inside you. You writhed against him, wanting more, needing more.

Din groaned at the movement, “Stars! K-eep doing that and I won’t last another second. _N’gayaha muniya k’uela oye.”_

He released his hold on your arms, a hand reaching around you to cradle your ass to him, stabilizing you against his thrusts. You reach up and feel his curly hair through your fingers, you pull him towards you, wanting his mouth on yours.

Din kissed you deeply, panting against your lips as he moved inside you. His other hand cradled the back of your head, his fingers threading your hair and pulled. Your body sang and you could feel yourself getting close to the edge again. You pressed your hips hard into his, grinding your mound against his groin to help push you there. Din grunted, and his mouth went to your neck, kissing before biting down hard. 

“Oh Gods!” You went ridged, all feeling exploding through every nerve in your body and you writhed, riding out the euphoric wave with Din coming seconds later. A strangled groan ripped from his throat and he throbbed inside you. You held onto him, gasping for breath as the tremors died away. You kissed his neck, feeling the pulse jump just below the surface. You smiled, and licked the sweat off him. The hand on the back of your head tightened and so did the one on your ass. How the hell was he still standing?

As if he heard your thought, he moved slowly to the edge of his bed. How he knew where it was in the dark was a talent. You weren’t an itty bitty girl, and yet he carried you without trouble or strain. In bed you stretched, loving the twinge of worked muscle and the ache of satisfaction. A finger trailed over your arm down to your side and over the leg you had thrown over his hip. Din’s head turned and he kissed the side of your head lightly.

You moved to meet his lips and smiled, “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this.”

You felt Din’s grin against your lips, “It’d be impossible with you.” He turned, throwing an arm around you and pulled you in close.

You both lay in comfortable silence together. The morning events replayed in your mind. Something was going on between Ko’en and Skurk, you could feel it. Something was… not right. Being around Skurk had made you uneasy. You had previously thought it was Ko’en that was causing you anxiety but felt it when Skurk was near. When you held the child to help Skurk with his experiments, he had barely looked at the measurements he called out. His eyes had been on the child, yes, but for more than scientific curiosity.

You were being paranoid.

Din shifted and rolled to hold himself over you, “Turn off your brain for a bit…” he says, lowering his head to nibble your neck. He always seemed to know when you were trapped in your own thoughts. You blushed, embarrassed, “sorry.”

His mouth left your neck, tantalizing the skin on your collarbone…chest… breast… tummy… hip…

“I’ll turn it off for you… I still want to hear that noise from earlier-“ He nibbled the skin on your inner thigh, his hands splayed over your stomach, holding you still. “Let’s see if I can make you do it again.”

He lowered his head… and… and… _ohhhh_

* * *

Skurk pulled his hand back and rubbed his bruised knuckles, watching his so-called ‘assistant’ gasping for breath on the floor of his laboratory. He gained great pleasure watching his servant struggle to his hands and knees, a hand held out, pleading against further punishment. What else did he expect when he laughed at his master in front of customers?

Idiot.

Skurk flexed and shook out his hand, easing the stiffness that settled in after a decent lesson.

“So Ko’en…” His servant raised his head, face red and teeth gritted. Oh dear… doesn’t he look upset. Skurk smirks as he kneels down to his level.

“What have we learned today?”

Ko’en grunted in pain and rasped, “N-Never dis-disrespect Mah-M-Master!”

Skurk smiled.

Ko’en learned this lesson quickly.

He had been an expensive servant… Costing Skurk more credits than he cared to admit to purchase his pardon from the Hutts. Skurk reminded Ko’en of that often. Ko’en should be grateful, his life could’ve ended between a Rancor’s jaws.

Skurk could’ve hired hunters to retrieve his specimens from around the galaxy, but they could be hard to trust and unreliable. This ex-bounty hunter was his property and owed his pathetic life to Skurk as long as he lived. Ko’en has proved very useful to him. His skillset improved Skurk’s menagerie for his clientele immensely in the 6 months he’s owned him. When one owns another, their very existence relies upon them making you very happy.

Although, there did need to be some ‘attitude adjusting’ from time to time. But todays slight… Skurk grew angry again. The little twat had laughed when the big eared child had bit him. In front of people nonetheless. It had taken every ounce of control not to discipline his assistant right then and there in front of Mando and…

Skurk paused…remembering.

“How do you know the Mandalorian’s companion?”

Ko’en picked himself gingerly off the floor, one hand clasped to his ribs. Skurk waited impatiently for his answer. He’d meant to ask Ko’en about it the night before at the casino but a lovely specimen had captured his attention… and his cock the remainder of the evening.

“Get on with it!” Skurk barked.

Ko’en scrambled back, “She-She’s just an ex-exgirlfriend!” Hmm interesting.

“I take it didn’t part well between you two?” Skurk smirked. Ko’en lip was still discolored.

Skurk knew something had occurred between his assistant and the Mandalorian’s companion. The tension those two brought to the meeting had been as thick as sludge.

Ko’en shook his head, “No Master. But I promise it won’t interfere… It was years ago!”

“No… No…” Skurk muttered as he paced. An idea was forming.

A client contacted him weeks ago, looking for a _very_ specific creature. The payday on the delivery could send Skurk into early retirement if he so desired. And as luck would have it… he saw that very creature today.

“This is what you are going to do…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> Let me know what you think!  
> 


	16. Hear him out

Chapter 16

Hear him out

A week goes by without word from Skurk.

A week spent on Canto Bight was a vacation you didn’t know you needed. Every time the Razor Crest lands on a planet, you spend no more than three days before something called you to move.

The days always began the same… Either you or Din would wake up first and spend the morning bringing the other to wakefulness in the most imaginable ways. Then you would train together, explore the city’s sights with the kid in his hover pod, and take a walk in the evening. Some nights brought you to the beach and hours were spent walking the shoreline or sitting in the sand playing sand castles. Once the kid was fast asleep in his cubby, you and Din came together time and time again.

It was so perfect… you never wanted it to end.

The kid seemed happier, enjoying walking around the surrounding forest on the outskirts of the city with you and Din. The kid giggled, chasing a large beetle flitting about from bush to bush. The bright beetle’s wings caught the sunlight, casting a prism on the leaf covered forest floor. The child attempted to run faster than his little legs would allow and tripped over the hem of his robe. He went sprawling and picked himself back up again and continued his chase of the sought after beetle.

No doubt to eat it.

“Amazing how resilient that little goofball is.” You smiled softly. Din nodded, “I half expected him to throw a tantrum when he tripped.”

A small chuckle escaped you and you nudge Din as you walked side by side along the path heading back to the Crest.

“Any ideas how to spend the rest of the day?”

“Hm.” Din’s hand drifted down your back until resting over the swell of your ass and squeezed, “I can think of a few things.” His voice rumbled through his modulator. Heat settled low in your belly at his words, anticipation fluttering in your chest. Again?

“You’re insatiable.” You winked at him and he pinched your rump.

“Is that a complaint?”

You shook your head and lean up to plant a kiss on his polished beskar helmet, “Never.”

Bushes shook and you turn to see the kid’s legs sticking out from a shrub, wiggling to dislodge himself and making sharp cries of annoyance. You laughed at the comical sight and go to retrieve him. You pulled him from the bush and held him in your arms, inspecting him for injury. The large beetle was clutched tightly in his hand, buzzing futilely to get away. Little dude caught it finally.

The poor bug had given it’s all for nothing. The kid popped his prize into his mouth, looking very pleased with himself and swallowed.

“That’s nasty.”

* * *

_beep_

_beep_

_beep_

_beep_

Uggghh what the fuuuck… You groaned, wishing you could block that fucking annoying sound and go back to your post sex nap. Who the fuck is calling? Din roused underneath you, hearing the noise in his sleep as well. How he was able to breathe with you spread on top of him? You have no idea…

_Beep_

_Beeeeeep_

“Mmm- whassat?” He mumbled groggily. You buried your face into his neck, trying to escape the sound and go back to sleep. Din must be more sleep fogged than you to not recognize the sound of his own message machine.

“Someone’s callin’ you.” You grumbled and yawned. You know you should get up or you wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight. You pull away from him, wincing at the twinge the movement brought. Damn that was good… All of it was good… Jeez, call yourself an addict because you couldn’t get enough.

“You gettin’ it?” Din yawned when he felt you leave the bed.

“Mmhm.” You find your clothes in the dark and slip them on before you open the door and head to the control room.

The call had ended and a recorded message remained on the hologram messenger. You plopped into Din’s chair and press play.

Skurk appeared.

_Good evening Mando and Miss Fett. I hope this message finds you well and I sincerely apologize for the delay in returning with my findings._

No need to apologize too hard, you think to yourself. You’ve enjoyed the past week immensely.

_I reach out to you now to inform you I believe I’ve made a small breakthrough in helping to identify your small companion._ The news catches you by surprise and you sit up in the chair, your attention riveted on Skurk’s image.

_The only way to know I am right would require the child blood sample to run through my database. My assistant, Ko’en, will be by later this evening to retrieve a sample. If this is an inconvenient time, return my call and we can schedule a more suitable time for the collection._ Skurk smiled and bowed before reaching over to shut off the transmitter.

You sit back and sighed. This was great news… and yet you feel dread settle over you at the thought of seeing Ko’en again. Last time was fine… maybe this time will be no different. There was no need to delay providing the blood sample. It was early evening and there were no plans to leave the ship for the remainder of the night. You get up to tell Din about the message when-

_Beep_

_Beep_

You look back at the hologram messenger, seeing another call was coming in. You frowned. Is this Skurk calling back to ensure we got the message? You look over yourself and smooth your hair over your ears before you answer the call.

It wasn’t Skurk.

It was Ko’en.

_Hey… please don’t cancel the call._

What the fuck was he doing calling you?! His image was looking at yours you could see. A hologram within a hologram. You swallowed and controlled your face.

“What do you want?”

Ko’en looked away from the recorder, as if to see if he was alone. He turned back after a moment.

_I just- I want to talk… but not now… not like this._

“Why would I want to talk to you?” Your hand hovered close to the communication switch, ready to shut it off.

_I’m coming over to get the blood sample for my Master and I wanted to see if you and I could talk. To-to maybe give me a chance to explain myself… I was such a dick to you._ He looked away as he said it, looking by all appearance as ashamed as a scolded child. You bit your lip… watching him wringing his hands together. You’d never seen him like this… He was always such an arrogantly confident man. Seeing him looking contrite and apologetic was surreal.

“What if I don’t want to hear your excuses? It’s been years Ko’en , years since you left me… left what we were because you were too chicken shit to be a father!” It came out as bitter and you swallowed hard. Keep it together. 

Ko’en’s dark curly head fell to his chest and you heard your name on his lips, followed by, _I’m sorry. I don’t deserve – please… I promise… I fucking swear you will never hear from me again after this. I just want a chance to… come clean. Please…_

Your finger hovered over the switch and you hesitated at the pleading you could hear in his voice. For whatever reason you didn’t want to admit, his words struck a chord in you. Ko’en’s image looked up from the ground into the recorder and you were shocked to see the glimmer of tears in his large black eyes. Was he being… sincere?

You stare at his image… contemplating what a meeting between you two would actually accomplish. In whatever outcome, he swore to never contact you again. Was this the closure you needed to move on from this mess?

A movement catches your eye and you look over to see Din in the doorway. He looked at the hologram and back to you and waves his hand as if to say _Well go on._ You imagine you look like fish out of water when you turn back to the transmitter.

You clear your throat, “Fine. Don’t make me regret it.” You reach over and shut off the hologram before Ko’en could reply but not fast enough to see him dumbfounded by your answer.

The hologram collapses and silence fills the air. Well that wasn’t how you expected the night to go.

You sat back in Din’s chair and eye him suspiciously, “How long have you been there?”

Din leaned against the doorframe; arms crossed and shrugged, “Heard the last bit… asking you to meet.”

You replay Skurk’s message for him and fill him in on the beginning of the conversation with Ko’en.

“I don’t know what he could possibly tell me that would make up for what he did?” You say, more to yourself than Din. You blow a breath out in exasperation, “Why do you want me to talk to him?”

“It’s more for your benefit than his.”

You quirk an eyebrow in question, “Oh?”

“You might get some answers the questions that have been bothering you.” Din rationalizes, “If you don’t talk to him, you’ll always wonder what he had to say.” He wasn’t wrong… scary accurate actually. You purse your lips, mulling his words over.

“What if this is a ploy to steal me away from you?” You meant it in a teasing manner, but Din’s sudden stillness informed you it did not come across in the way you had intended. You leapt from the chair and went to him, “I’m joking! I’m joking! Bad joke… I’m sorry.” You try to placate, cursing yourself for being an idiot. You placed a hand on his chest and his hand rose to envelop yours, almost to the point of being painful.

“I would steal you back, and kill him.” What started off as playful teasing had become more genuine than you had anticipated. Din’s territorial threat removed several layers of uncertainty from your relationship. 

You smile demurely at him and hoped he could read the sincerity in your eyes, “I would expect nothing less.”

* * *

Skurk’s message hadn’t conveyed what time you were to expect his assistant… Cassian’s father… your ex-lover…

_Fuck_

Alone in the kitchen you poured yourself a finger of Canto Bight whiskey and took a liberal swallow, making a face as it burned down your throat. Anxiety built in your stomach the more time that passed without sign of Ko’en.

You grumbled, “Was it too much of a burden for Skurk to have set a damn time?!”

Din walked in and placed the child into your arms, “Relax Fett.”

You cast him a withering glance and hefted the child into one arm and picked up the drink with another, “Easy for you to say.” You downed the rest and coughed.

Din held something out to you and you plucked it from his hand. A comlink.

“If you need… or want me to intervene.” Din says by way of explanation. You place the comlink in your pant pocket and cast him a grateful smile. The child leaned over and grabbed a ladle from the cabinet and promptly stuck it into his mouth. He’d been fed, but wanted to chew on whatever he could get his grubby little hands on. He was teething… More of those sharp little teeth were coming in and you already began to mourn the destruction he will bring upon you both.

A voice came from outside, “Hello! Master Skurk’s assistant here! Hello?!”

And here you had hoped he would chicken out. You looked to Din and he nodded, “I’ll be here if you need me.”

Despite the full moons providing enough light to see by, you brought down a lantern from the ship. Ko’en sat at the workman’s table you and Din had set up to hold your weapons for target practice. It doubled as a meal table when you and the child took your meals outside. He stood up when you came down the ship’s ramp with the kid. You held your head up high and had your poker face in place.

Ko’en’s mode of travel, a land speeder, was parked nearby. A new model you noticed with an appraising eye. Was it his or his employer’s? You place the lantern on the table and sit with the child in your lap.

Ko’en resumed his place across the table and smiled awkwardly, “I uh, I honestly didn’t expect you to agree to see me.”

“I came to hear what you had to say.”

“I… uh… I-I understand why you hate me.” Hmm, oh he does, does he?

“You do? Please tell me why I hate you? I would love to hear it.” He snapped his head up and looked at you in the eye. The kid continued to gnaw on the ladle; both of you watching the grown man across the table try to form words like a big boy.

“Listen, I’m trying to be real with you. I know I fucked up. I fucked up bad. I fucked up hard. I fucked up my whole life!” The emotion in which he admits this holds you in your seat. You adjust the kid on your lap and listen.

“When I left you that night, my life went to shit. It was a string of bad decisions that started when I left you when…” He swallowed thickly, “When you told me you were pregnant.”

“So you’re saying it’s my fault?” You reply sarcastically.

“No! Just, Stars woman! Listen to me!” Ko’en banged on the table, startling the child. You glared at him and murmured soothing words to the kid to settle him. Ko’en watched the kid calm down and resume his relentless gnawing of the kitchen utensil before looking up at you sadly.

“I ruined… everything.” Ko’en was never one to admit wrong doing… It was always someone else’s fault, never his. You sat quietly, not giving him anything.

Ko’en’s dark eyes gazed into yours, “I’m so sorry… I-I…After I left. I would… go to Elenta sometimes.”

This news stunned you… Ko’en continued resolutely, “I saw you… and our son. Glimpses of you and I would have to leave again. I saw him… Cassian.” Ko’en blinked back tears.

“I’d betrayed the Hutts… They were after me… I couldn’t stay! They would’ve come after you and Cassian if they knew you existed! I didn’t want to leave you. I did what I did to protect you as fucked up as it sounds.”

You couldn’t feel your face. Time had stopped. Blood roared in your ears… Ko’en’s mouth kept moving, his words barely registering.

“… The last time I came to Elenta… two years ago. I heard what happened to your family… to Cassian… I’m-I’m so sorry. Please believe me when I tell you I was devastated! I wanted to reach out to you-“

“Stop.”

Ko’en closed his mouth and looked away. His admission… as outrageous as it was… made sense. Didn’t make it any less shocking. He still abandoned you and Cassian… but it was for more than what you initially believed. The Hutt’s were looking for him all those years ago? It didn’t make sense, he would’ve told you.

“Why were the Hutt’s looking for you?”

Ko’en had at least the sense to look embarrassed by the question, “I fucked up… Do you remember how hard it was to get jobs when we first met? I was broke… in debt… bad. My old ship was breaking down every other day and I didn’t have the funds for the repairs. A job came out… one that I was actually able to find the guy. I notified the Hutts that I was back in route with the target, but needed the funds ahead of time for the fuel and emergency repairs because the ship got blasted pretty bad. They wired the funds and on my way back I was contacted by someone from the Empire. He offered me three times what the Hutts paid. I was a fuckin idiot and did it. I handed the target over and went to a local bar. I needed to deliver something to the Hutts… I found a man that was similar to the target, he was drunk and acting a fool. I… I killed him and disfigured him enough that he passed as the bounty. I delivered the body to the Hutts and made up a story about how I had to kill him. Repaid the live price and felt I got away with it…” 

But he didn’t. Ko’en goes on to tell that after time passed, the truth came out. The Hutts were looking for him and he had stayed hidden for the most part. After you told him you were expecting, he freaked out because that would mean he couldn’t play this hide and seek game with you and the new baby. Your relationship had been kept quiet, and now you see why… you remember how stressed he would be and the long spans of time he spent ‘on jobs.’ He had been in hiding and never told you.

You shook your head, not understanding something, “But last year I saw you on a bounty puck… Do you mean to tell me you’d been able to give the Hutts the slip for all that time?”

“Yes and no…”

At your confused expression, Ko’en cracks a smile, “I had some friends that owed me a favor. They took the job and then go back empty handed, informing the Hutts they were unable to find me. That kept the Hutts off my trail for a long time. I also spread a rumor that I was dead, that worked for a bit.”

You frowned, “But you said you paid off your debt to the Hutts.”

At this, Ko’en’s face fell and he grimaced, “Well… I didn’t. I met Skurk and, well… he paid it off in return for my services.”

“So he owns you?”

“No!... No… He’s my boss. I work for him.” Ko’en’s reassuring smile doesn’t meet his eyes. You purse your lips, unconvinced but dropped it.

You cradle the child in your arms, absorbing all that he’d told you. It was overwhelming… You had no idea. Yes you were still angry at him, but the feeling of betrayal had lessened. He could be lying, but it seemed so absolutely plausible it gave you pause to dismiss it entirely.

“The man who came and killed my family… Was he from the Hutts?” Even as you asked the question, you didn’t believe he was. The man had come looking for your father, Boba and you. Why would a Hutt want your father dead?

“I don’t know who that was.” Ko’en shook his head. You sighed, would you ever find out?

“Was the casino the first time you saw me since Elenta?”

Ko’en frowned, “Yeah… why?”

You tell him about Takodana and the feeling of being watched, “Like when I felt you watching me at the casino. So you’re sure it wasn’t you?”

“Well yeah it wasn’t me. I would’ve come up to you and you’d have punched me there instead of at the casino.” You bite back a smile. He saw it and chuckled.

You adjusted the child in your lap and look down. He continued to gnaw on the ladle, looking perfectly content to just be held. Ko’en looked at the child and sat up, “I almost forgot… I need his blood sample.”

Oh… the real reason why Ko’en was there. Ko’en reached into his bag and withdrew a small black pouch. A syringe and vial was set on the table and Ko’en stood to come to your side. You coo to the kid and watched Ko’en prep the syringe. You roll up the child’s sleeve, giving Ko’en access. Please be quick and painless… you didn’t want to witness this. You hate to see the kid hurting.

“Careful,” You murmur, watching the needle pierce the child’s elbow crease and Ko’en depress the plunger and draw it back out. The child squirmed in discomfort, uttering a high pitch cry that made tears come to your eyes. Blood filled the syringe up to the filled mark before Ko’en withdrew the needle. You place pressure over the puncture with your thumb and coo to the child, telling him how good and brave he was. The child whimpered tearfully and went loose in your arms. You look down and see the kid was asleep. Oh you poor little thing…

“Must not like needles.”

You heft the limp body into your arms, concerned, “Was that too much blood?”

Koen held out the syringe for you to see, “I know he’s small, I only took what Master Skurk required for his body weight.” Looking at the little vial you felt silly that you were worried. Maybe the kid was just tired and the blood draw sent him over the edge? You cradle the sleeping child in your arms as Ko’en shook the vial and placed it in a black pouch in his bag. His hand withdrew, holding a familiar fancy bottle of amber liquid.

“I hope you don’t mind…” He smiled. A smile that sent you back to the bar at home, flirting over your drinks. You sat wordlessly as Ko’en removed two short glasses from his pack and placed them between you.

“I know how much you like this stuff.” Stuff meaning Elenta whiskey. A taste you have not had in years.

“How did…?”

Ko’en grinned and poured you a glass, “There was a merchant selling booze from different planets. I found a bottle and kept it, for a special occasion.” He slid the glass over to you and you took it. Many memories were made over a drink such as this. You stuck your nose in and sniffed in the familiar aroma. Gods…

Ko’en raised his glass, “To you.”

You raise your drink and take a sip… and empty the glass. Stars you had forgotten how good that stuff is! You breathe in deeply, the air hitting your tongue, releasing the aroma into your olfactory sense.

Ko’en drained his glass and leaned forward, “So Fett, tell me about your adventures.”

He refills both glasses as you tell him the more exciting and slightly edited stories from the past year or so. You leave the kid out of them for the most part. Even as relaxed as you felt you didn’t feel comfortable divulging the child’s story.

The comlink buzzed in your pocket. Din.

“’Scuse me a moment.” You place the child to your shoulder and left the table to walk out of ear shot. You removed the ‘link from your pocket, “Hey, I’m doing alright.” You mutter quietly, surprised by how true it was.

“ _Good, I’ll see you when you’re done.”_ You smiled at Din’s words and put the ‘link away. You look to the sleeping child on your shoulder, dead to the world.

“The Mandalorian?” Ko’en asked when you returned. You nodded and pick up your refilled glass. Before you take a sip, you notice Ko’en making an odd expression…

“What?” You questioned, and take a small sip.

Ko’en’s dark eyes fall to the glass in your hand and shook his head, “Nothing.” The tone of his voice suggested otherwise. His whole demeanor had changed from lighthearted fun to that of a sullen child. What’s eatin him?

“What?” You ask again, quirking an eyebrow at him. “After all this time don’t tell me you’re jealous.” You neither confirmed nor denied your relationship with the Mandalorian. It wasn’t his business. What? Did Ko’en think that by sharing your experiences you would come back to him? You take a sip of your drink as you contemplate the hilarity of it. An annoying ringing sound hit your left ear. You put your drink down and pull on your earlobe to pop it for relief. Ow.

“I’m… I’m not jealous.”

Wow, you’d forgotten how strong Elenta whiskey was. Your head felt fuzzy and heavy. You look at the glass and decided it’s your last one.

You finished your drink, “I’m heading in… take care of yoursss-yourself Kowwwen.” Jeez have you lost the ability to talk? You reach over to set the glass down. You frowned, confused when it tumbled from your numb fingers to clatter to the ground. Huh? The ringing grew louder in your ears, blocking out everything. This wasn’t the alcohol… You look to Ko’en confused, “Wha-?”

The sad look on his face alarmed you as you felt yourself tipping back with the child in your arms. You stare at the stars in confusion… wondering why you were on the ground looking up at the bright moon hovering above.

The edges of your vision blur and a black fog rolls over your vision, but not before you see Ko’en bend, and pick the child from your lifeless arms.

And then… nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loved the reviews I've been getting! Thank you all so much! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	17. Skurk

Chapter 17

Skurk

The throbbing in your head woke you from the worst anxiety dream you’ve ever experienced. A heavy drum beat in your ears and the pain behind your eyes and sour taste on your tongue made you grimace and wince. What the fuuuuck? How much did you drink last night? The crappy taste in your mouth made you think you cleaned out a refresher with your tongue. You crack open a bleary eye and find yourself looking at sour smelling straw strewn across a metal floor.

 _What… the… fuck? Where am I?_ You attempt to push yourself up and found it difficult. Your wrists are bound together in front of you with thin rope; it dug painfully into your wrists.

Cold panic crept up your spine as you stare dumfounded at your bound hands. You look up at you unfamiliar surroundings. A metal cage… you were trapped on all sides by twisted metal in what seemed to be a… laboratory? Pens of different sizes stacked the walls in the dimly lit room inhabited by creatures of varying species.

All were quietly watching you or staring at their prison… The normal chirps, growls, hoots, and sounds were absent. They all seemed subdued… depressed? You try to control your breathing and calm the rising panic in you. Bits and pieces of memory surfaced in your mind in brief flashes. The hologram, Ko’en, a needle in the kid’s arm…

The Kid!

Where was the kid?!

Ko’en took him from you.

That bastard! You grab a bar of the cage and haul yourself up, the movement making your vision blur out from the pain in your skull. “… _Shit.”_ The bars doubled and morphed before settling back in their normal position.

You’ve been drugged. Ko’en drugged the Elenta whiskey.

You scanned the surrounding cages for any sign of the child. In a far right corner cage you catch a glimpse of brown cloth. _Kid?_ You pull yourself to the corner of your cage to get a better angle… Yes! It’s him! Poor thing was still asleep. The syringe last night… it had something in it when Ko’en went to take his blood. The kid had passed out right afterwards. This whole thing was planned and you fucking played right into it!

What would Ko’en want with the kid? With you? The rope around your wrist made it impossible to do much of anything. You sat down and begin gnawing on the rough rope to loosen your bindings.

It takes you an hour to get them off. Your head pounded and jaw ached from the effort. You throw the rope to the back of the cage and pat yourself down. The comlink in your pocket was gone… you had nothing; not even hair pins to work at the cage lock. The nauseous after effect of whatever drug Ko’en used on you made you ill over and over. You clung to the bars, damp hair hovering over your eyes as you emptied your stomach. Your body was doing everything it could to rid itself of the toxin. After the latest purge you didn’t think you had anything left in you. Water… You needed water. You spit the taste from your mouth and lay back against the bars and closed your eyes.

Nothing to do now but wait.

* * *

“GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”

Mando yelled and banged a fist into the wall of his ship.

How long had they been gone?!

After he called to check on her on the comlink he had cleaned up to go to bed. It wasn’t until almost midnight before he decided to call again. She hadn’t come in, and it was late. He didn’t want to bother her but… maybe he could get her something?

There was no answer.

Mando frowned, slightly peeved that she didn’t pick up. He paused… should he leave her alone or go out there? He could bring the kid back in and leave her to continue her talk with _him._ Hm, it wouldn’t hurt to remind Skurk’s assistant who his partner is. Decided, Mando went down… and stopped.

She’s gone, the kid’s gone…

Two glasses remained on the table and a bottle of alcohol. He went over and picked up the glasses. His helmet whirled, diagnostic being run on the contents of the glasses. The results came back with a positive trace for Rohipen in one of them; a powerful narcotic used for sedation. Mando chucks the glasses into the woods and swears. He scans the surrounding area, looking for any residual heat signatures and found none. They’ve been gone for hours.

His breathing came hard and fast as the panic and fear starting setting in. They were gone. Mando turned to rush back inside the ship when something crunched under his boot. He bent down and picked up a crushed comlink. The one he had given her.

Mando ran back to the ship and hailed Skurk on the comsystem. But as he suspected, the fucker doesn’t answer. Skurk and Ko’en must be in on this together.

Mando slammed his fist on the comsystem and stormed out of the control room. She doesn’t have her weapons on her. She went with the baby to meet Ko’en with no weapons on her. Mando wanted to curse her lack of judgement but couldn’t. She was drugged. She wouldn’t have been able to use them anyway.

The only beings Mando has ever cared about has been taken from him… An emotion unlike any other hit Mando with the force of a planetquake.

Rage

Mando grabbed his rifle and headed into the city.

* * *

You opened your eyes when you hear the hiss of the door sliding open. A figure entered the dimly lit laboratory and you recognize Skurk. He walks over to the kid’s cage and peers in and seemed satisfied by what he observed. He glanced over his shoulder at you. A wide grin spreads across his face when his eyes met yours.

“Ahhh you’re awake! I had hoped my assistant didn’t overdose you with his incompetence.” So Ko’en did drug you, but at Skurk’s order.

“Where are we going?” You ask calmly, your poker face firmly intact. You had run through several scenarios in attempts to come up with a logical conclusion to your situation.

But one thing was for certain: you weren’t on Canto Bight.

The difference in gravity was the first thing you noticed after the initial panic wore off. That and the familiar scent of recycled air being blown through the vents tainted with the smell of animals. You were on a ship, a rather large ship by the feel of it. How long had you been out? Whatever drug Ko’en used on you had mostly made its way out of your system but the nausea remained. You liken it to the worst hangover you’ve ever experienced.

The vile man came towards the cage, hands clasped behind his back in all manner of a mini holo-drama villain. His ponytail swayed behind him like a cat’s tail, flicking into the air with each step he took towards you. You remain seated on the dirty floor, watching him.

“Why do you want to know? Have somewhere to be?” Skurk joked, halting at the bars and looked down at you.

“Need to know what occasion to dress for. This outfit only works for certain events. Wouldn’t want to commit a fashion faux pas.” You gesture to your tan leather pants and black tank and boots. You were freezing. Before he had entered, you had tried to warm yourself by rubbing your arms. You would take the cold over heat any day but right now you would kill for a blanket.

Skurk smiled thinly. At this distance, his lipless mouth was visible. His gaze was penetrating, watching you like a vulture waiting for his prey to submit to the inevitable. The stare made the skin on the back of your neck prickle. You refused to let him see the effect his presence had on you and steeled your resolve.

“Don’t worry about that Miss Fett. I assure you that you would be most presentable in any company I keep.” Well that doesn’t answer shit…

“Let’s fast forward through this verbal tit for tat and get to you explaining to me why you had me and the child kidnapped? Where are we going?”

“Aw but I was enjoying this.” Skurk rolled his eyes, “Oh fine. You’re no fun.” He clicked his tongue and caressed the bar of your cage thoughtfully.

“That interesting creature…has someone that wants him, very much. Willing to pay a great deal. So… in all actuality, you have Mando to thank for your current accommodations. He reached out to me to identify that little toothy money sack.”

It was just as you had feared; the kid was still being hunted. You and Din had talked long and hard about reaching out for answers in order to get this baby back where he belonged. You thought you had been careful. This guy had wanted the baby from the beginning.

“I get why you want the kid… why am I here?”

Skurk shrugged, “I prefer one person coming for me rather than two. It would’ve been preferable for the Mandalorian to be taken care of but I doubted my assistant had the mental capacity to accomplish this much to be honest.” Skurk peered down his nose, “I’m truly sorry for using your ex-lover to trick you. But just see this as one of life’s many lessons: Let the past die.”

His words hit you deep. You worked hard to keep the emotion from your face. The bastard was right; you had played into his plan. The hours you spent in the cell gave you the time to think about all that had transpired. Ko’en’s plea to ‘explain himself’ made you cringe. What you thought was an honest confession had been a ploy to take the child. It must’ve taken Ko’en a long time to come up with that fucked up story. You believed him… you seriously did. He did all that just to drug you and snatch the kid. You’re a fucking idiot. Skurk watched you thoughtfully, apparently enjoying this reveal.

“You have the kid. What are you going to do with me? Kill me? Why didn’t you have your ‘assistant’ kill me instead of lugging my ass all the way here?”

“Oh I have something planned for you,” The look on his face set anxiety rolling through your already queasy gut.

“I don’t just deal in exotic creatures my dear. You’re a fairly attractive female… doubt I’ll have to feed you for long.”

No… a lump formed in your throat.

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head. I’m sure one of my clients will take you off my hands. ”

A slave… you would be a slave.

Skurk was a trafficker.

* * *

Every person Mando asked about Skurk all either denied knowing him or refusing to speak about him. Two days wasted scouring the streets of Canto Bight’s underground for any information that would help lead him to the kid and her. With more time that passed Mando’s patience for coaxing information from seedy informants disappeared.

The man clawed at the gloved hand clutched around his throat, his bulging eyes staring at the blaster pointed at his head, “I-I sw-ear!” He pled brokenly, “I haven’t seen Sk-urk in weeks!”

This was the first one he’s come across that admitted to knowing Skurk. Mando had found him in Canto Bight’s underground black market. Passerbyers averted their eyes from the Mandalorian as if catching his eye would mean they were next.

The spice-runner choked and coughed.

Mando loosened his grip slightly, but pulled him in close, “Where does he go when he’s done here?” Mando’s impatience was apparent to the spice-runner.

“It-It-It depends on w-what he’s trading!” Mando only knew of Skurk’s animal trade.

“What all does he trade in?” Mando asked in a more coaxing manner. The hesitation on the spice-runner’s face gave Mando an idea, but he needed to know for certain.

“Tell me and I’ll be on my way.” The barrel pressed hard between the man’s eyes, indicating what will happen if he didn’t.

The man spluttered, “Ah.. well you know um- ah animals and uhm… indentured ahh… servants.”

Slaves

Of all the fucked up jobs that man could have… he chose to trade in people’s lives. Mando cursed himself for ever contacting Skurk. He should’ve been more cautious. Mando grasped that Skurk must’ve known about the kid when he contacted him. It didn’t take much to come to the conclusion someone had sought after Skurk’s services in order to locate the child. When she too was taken Mando searched for an explanation as to why. It was worse than he thought. Skurk was going to sell her along with the kid.

“Where?” He needed to find them. And fast. He shook the man when he hesitated yet again and roared in the terrified man’s face, “Where?!”

“C-Corellia!”

Mando pushed the man from him and strode back in the direction of his ship. Those who saw him approach moved quickly out of his way. His determined stride emanated his barely controlled rage. His _Mi’ona_ and the kid were in the hands of a trafficker and he could not waste another moment on this planet. Gods help Skurk and his little fucking assistant when he caught up to them.

You steal from a Mandalorian and you’ll regret it for the rest of your short life.

Mando’s footsteps echoed around him as he ascended into his ship. Silence greeted him upon entering the control room. He hadn’t been by himself in so long, it was foreign to him. He had grown used to the normal sounds of day to day life. The kid playing and giggling, his _Mi’ona_ humming as she worked or the sound of her creating a new tool or toy in her forge… and her small breathy noises as she nestled against him in her sleep.

Mando closed his eyes, the memory of the first morning with her surfacing. He walked in her room to see the child sleeping with her on the old cargo-net hammock. They were so content cuddling as they slept, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

He couldn’t forget the sense of alarm when he found the kid’s cubby empty. But the look she gave him when she awoke to see him in the doorway… Ha, she told him off. Mando smiled faintly at the memory. Daughter of Fett was not some little wallflower. She never hesitated to tell voice her displeasure. He loved that about her.

He would kill to see the kid and her napping together again. To hear them playing or damn, even her soothing the kid during one of his tantrums! He missed it so much it hurt!

In all his years he’d never felt as alone as he did in that moment. He half expected her to walk out of her room and smile up at him before going to check on the kid.

Mando punched in the coordinates for Corellia’s Coronet Spaceport and threw the Razor Crest into hyperdrive. He tapped into his small reserve of coaxium, giving the ship that push needed to get there as fast as possible. There was no time to waste. He didn’t know if they both had been sold… and if so, how to find them.

…Wait

Mando leapt from his captain’s chair and went to the weapons locker. It had to be here somewhere! Mando shoved aside spare weapon parts and tools. They clattered loudly to the floor but Mando paid it no attention. He knew it was here… It had to be! There it was; underneath the blaster cleaning kit.

The kid’s tracking fob.

It’s been months since Mando used it to find that little womp rat. Maybe it can be used again? Mando switched it on and held his breath. The button glowed red and went out.

Dead

Cursing, Mando popped open the flap on the tracker and inspected the wiring. He would need to be careful when he charged it; he could accidentally scramble the tracker code and then fob would be useless.

Mando returned to the control room and spent the next hour carefully attaching the fob to a portable power source he used for his arm controller before his beskar was upgraded. He had to stop and shake his hands out often; his hands would start to shake and he could not afford to lose the tracking code.

It was frustrating work but he managed to finish it. The fob started blinking slowly.

Success!

Mando slumped in his chair, some of the tension leaving his body now that he has something to work with. He watched the tracker fob blink slowly in his palm.

They were far away… or the child was. Were they still together?

He wouldn’t reach Corellia until tomorrow… he needed rest. He hadn’t slept since they’d been taken two days ago. Physical and mental exhaustion hung like a heavy blanket over him. His feet hurt, his head hurt, his whole body hurt. Mando didn’t want to sleep but there was nothing left to do now but sleep. He needed to be sharp when he landed. Mando left the control room and went to his room.

Reminders of her were everywhere. When he pulled back the sheets on his bed there was a discarded top crumpled in the corner. He took it in his hands and held it to his lips. He laid down with her shirt in his hands and the smell of her around him. The scent of her shampoo was on the pillow, giving him a hint of comfort.

He will find them.

For now… sleep.

* * *

The kid awoke later that day. His whine penetrated through your exhausted nap, bringing you into your harsh reality. You look up to see him gripping the bars of his cage, looking at you tearfully. Oh you poor little thing. You pull yourself off the floor and go as close to him as your confines would allow.

“It’s okay froggy,” You coo soothingly to him, trying to offer as much comfort as possible at this distance. He must not be feeling good either. It looks like he got sick, the remnants dotted the front of his little robe. Poor baby. Fuck Ko’en and Skurk for making the poor kid feel this way! You wanted nothing more than to be able to comfort him in your arms.

The kid got a strange look on his face. Frowning, you watch as he extended a hand towards the cage clasp. After a moment it started to tremble. Oh… Oh this is how he was able to sneak into your room! You watch as the clasp unlocks and the cage door swings open. You clutch the bars and eye the laboratory door. Skurk left hours ago. Do they check the lab often? When do they feed the creatures? If you can get the kid to unsecure your cage you might have a chance!

The kid ‘floated’ down from his cage and waddled towards yours. Little froggy’s talents were endless apparently. You reach towards him and pull him through the bars. He fit through the metal bars and clung to you gratefully. You murmured praises as you hugged the small body to you. You needed to hurry, who knows how much time you have?

“Ok little guy, do the same trick to this cage.” You coaxed, bringing the kid to the lock on your pen. The kid didn’t remove his face from the confines of your shoulder. He whimpered, clutching your top tightly in his three clawed hands. You try to pull him off and he began to cry.

Shit, he’s too scared right now. Humming, you sway side to side as you hold him and hum a lullaby into his large ears. He was in no shape to plan an escape with you right now. You swallow your disappointment and relish the feel of his small body in your arms.

He’s okay. Sick, but okay.

Tears burned behind your closed lids. What were you going to do? You bit back a sob as you rocked the baby in your arms. You thought of Din. What was he thinking right now? Does he think you ran off with Ko’en? Shaking your head you put that thought from your mind. He wouldn’t. You wouldn’t leave him like that. He knows you wouldn’t leave and take the kid with you. He knows you better than that.

Tears leaked down your cheeks as you considered your predicament. The kid was being sold to… to someone. Possibly an Imperial officer, given Moff Gideon’s prior obsession with the child.

You… You were going to be sold as a slave to whomever Skurk decided… no doubt to the highest bidder. You’ve seen women rescued from traffic rings. The haunted dead look in their eyes will always be with you. Will you be as they were? No… No! You are a goddamn bounty hunter. You can kill whomever you are sold to and escape. You are trained and you are resilient! You will survive.

The laboratory door slides open.

You face the wall and crouch over the child, blocking him from view. Maybe Skurk won’t notice the kid’s empty cage? If he looked too closely he would see the child in your lap. You wiped the tears from your eyes and stare at the wall, waiting.

Footsteps scrape against the metal floor and halt before your cage. You stare at the wall before you resolutely. That is, until you hear your name on his lips.

You set the child down before you whirled around and charged at the cage. Ko’en jumped back, narrowly avoiding your outstretched hand curled into a claw.

“You son of a bitch!” You screeched, reaching through the bars to claw at his stupid infuriating face! The bastard had the gall to show up here after what he did to you?! AGAIN?!

“Stop! Please! I’m sorry! Listen to me for a second!” He pled, keeping out of reach of your out stretched hands. Listen to him? Listen? That’s what got you in this mess in the first place! Your vision was covered in a red haze as you stared at the man that has betrayed not once, but twice!

“What the fuck have you done Ko’en?!” You hissed, glaring at the worst mistake of your life, “You kidnapped a fuckin child and you drugged me you worthless excuse for a man!” Ko’en flinched at every insult you threw his way. He kept holding his hands out in a placating manner, attempting to quiet you like a mount that hasn’t broken.

He hissed your name again and again, trying to quiet you while glancing at the closed laboratory door.

“SHHHH! Please! Do you want him to come back?!” The tone in Ko’en’s voice penetrated your anger and brought you into clarity. You stood at the bars, glaring at him until you felt a small hand tugging at your pant leg.

Ko’en looked down at the child and glanced back at the open cage in the corner, “Wait how-?”

You bent and picked the kid up, “Get us water. Now. Then I will listen to whatever pathetic excuse you come up with.” Ko’en went across the lab and filled two cups of water and brought them back. You took yours and chugged it before handing it back to Ko’en for more. The kid was equally as thirsty and downed his glass with your assistance. Ko’en returned with the third refill which you held for the kid to sip on. The water was not the best quality but in your current state it tasted like nectar of the gods.

You leveled a look at Ko’en and waited. He had the goddamned gall to look embarrassed after what he did. He avoided your gaze and whispered, “He made me… I’m so sorry but he made me, Fett. He owns me… You were right, he owns me and I have to do what he commands.”

“So you kidnapped us Ko’en?!” You hissed, “You sink so low as to steal a child and drug me! Do you know what you’ve done? He’s going to sell me you piece of shit… We are in this mess because you’re too much of a little bitch to say “No.”’’ You spit in his face, “Fuck you.”

Ko’en wiped the spittle from his cheek and flung it to the floor. His eyes lifted to meet yours and you could see the rage… and regret in his stare.

“I did what I had to do to survive.”

“Save yourself by sacrificing us… You disgust me.”

Ko’en opened a mouth to retort but he froze. He looked to the door and then to the kid.

 _“Hide him!”_ He hissed before he left through an unmarked exit between a (what you believe to be) a storage closet and bathroom. His abrupt exit snapped you back into reality. He was coming. You snatched up the kid and hid in the corner farthest away from the entrance.

The door slid open and you recognized Skurk’s clipped steps. You forced yourself to breathe easy through your panic at the sound of his approach.

“Dear Dear, have you put yourself in time out?”

The kid started gnawing on your fist. You stuck your pinkie into the kids mouth to quiet him. He grabbed your fist and suckled contentedly. You didn’t answer Skurk, keeping your gaze trained on the wall and prayed he would leave soon.

Skurk’s footsteps moved around the cage, and he came in direct view of the child held in your arms. He paused, and looked back at the empty cage with the door open. He frowned when he looked back at you, “How did he get out?”

You slid away from Skurk, the baby held protectively to your chest, “Maybe you didn’t close his door all the way.” You shrugged.

Skurk doesn’t believe it, “I’ll not ask you again… How did he get out?”

If he wasn’t aware of the child’s powers, you weren’t going to be the one to tell him. You looked at Skurk quizzically, donning the ‘dumb girl’ look you’ve used several times in the past.

“I… I don’t know.” A dangerous look settled over his face. He came to the bars and gripped them between white knuckles, “Give him to me now.”

No fucking way, “He’s fine in here with me. He wants to be with me. I can keep him calm. It’s fine. This frees up another cage for whatever poor creature you capture next, see?” Your logic does nothing to placate Skurk.

“I am not going to argue with you. Give me the child, or you will be punished.”

His threat gave you pause. Punished? The child whimpered, clutching your fist in his hands tightly. You glance down, his large bright eyes staring tearfully into yours. No, you wouldn’t give him up.

You glowered at Skurk, “He stays with me you fucking shit beetle.”

The smile he gave you sent ice water through your veins.

“KO’EN!” Skurk barked, startling you.

Ko’en sprinted into the room, “Yes Master?” 

“Bring the prod.”

Ko’en blanched and stumbled to the table at the opposite end of the laboratory. He picked up a long stick with two inward curved metal prongs. Ko’en locked eyes with you and mouthed _Do it! Please!_ The look of fear in his eyes caused your legs to start shaking. The fuck is that thing?

Skurk took the wicked stick from Ko’en and gazed at it thoughtfully, “Such a dirty mouth you have…” He pushed a button and a loud crackle filled the air. Streaks of electricity danced between the two prongs. You flattened yourself to the wall farthest away from him. Gods!

“Give up the child, or he will feel it when I stick you with it!”

“Please!” You begged, “He will be calmer with me! Please don’t! He’s a child he needs me!” You pleaded with him, terrified by both the tool and giving the child up.

“NOW!” Skurk sent another charge through the prod. A cry escaped you and you pulled the terrified child away from your chest. His terrified screams causing you to start crying. You couldn’t allow Skurk to shock him too. It could kill him! The child began screaming in hysterics as you hesitantly handed him to Ko’en. The instant his body left your touch, your world exploded.

The prong made contact with your waist and you screamed and collapsed to the metal floor. This was ten times worse than your shock dart! This voltage was saved for a dewback or a goddamn bluurg! Every muscle in your body, including your face, seized and convulsed viciously. Skurk smiled cruelly as he watched you jerk and writhe in the dirty straw. You couldn’t breathe, you couldn’t move, you couldn’t think past the pain overpowering every sense. You’re whole existence was pain.

Please gods make it stop!

Skurk removes the prong and you gasped… your lungs spasm, you couldn’t breathe!

Skurk leaned against the bars and tsked, “I’d watch what comes out of that mouth of yours. My clients are more interested with what they can stuff into it. Do not disobey me again… or he gets it next.”

Ko’en placed the screaming child back into his cage and added an additional lock per Skurk's direction. Skurk laughed as the residual currents made you shake and whimper in turns.

Skurk and Ko'en left you crying and trembling on the dirty floor with the child’s cries ringing in your ears.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> I am so sorry it took me so long to update. Reading your comments made me push through my writers block and deliver this chapter. Thank you all so much! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you are doing well in this crazy time.  
> 


	18. Coward

Chapter 18

Coward

You don’t know how long you’ve been asleep. The charge from the prod exhausted you, sending you into a dark nightmare driven sleep after the charge finished running rampant through your system. Waking up on the floor in the cage informed you it, in fact, was not a nightmare as you had hoped.

Your tears dried up hours ago but the hollow ache in your chest echoed the sobs of grief you still felt. Despair settled over you as terrible thoughts come unbidden to your mind. Sold to some terrible person to be beaten, raped and toyed with for the amusement of others. Toro Calican’s face flashed in your mind. His touch still gave you nightmares from time to time. The fear you felt fighting him off as his hands touched you, wrapped around your neck, his threats whispered in your ear.

Din was always there when you jerked awake from that nightmare, trembling and heart banging like a drum. His hands would cradle your face, calling your name and gently kissing your forehead to bring you out of the dream’s remnants. _You’re ok. You’re safe._ His whispered words calming the fear still felt and you would cling to him, feeling him there. His heat, his strength, his safety wrapped around you as the fog of the nightmare disappeared.

Din wasn’t here now… He wasn’t here to save you from this nightmare. You need to plan, you need to escape. You need to save yourself and the kid.

The child hadn’t made any noise in the past few hours. Concerned, you forced yourself off the floor to grab the cage bars and painfully pull yourself up. Your muscles protest loudly and you held back a whimper. The power from that damned prod destroyed you. You hadn’t been able to move a muscle for hours after your ‘punishment.’ If Skurk made good on his threat, the kid would not be able to survive the shock from it. Your legs quaked beneath the strain of holding yourself upright. You clung to the bars and called out to the kid.

“Froggy.” You call softly, your voice cracking from your earlier screaming. The brown cloth shifts and his tearstained face peers at you from behind the bars. Your heart clenches as the sight and you coo, “It’s okay bud. I’m okay.” The kid looked away and huddled in on himself. He was scared… There was only so much you could do. After Ko’en locked him back in the cage with another lock, the kid had a tantrum when he attempted to use his power to unlock it and failed again and again. Never had you seen the child this…depressed. He would get sick… even die in here if you didn’t do something!

What could you do? The cage was annoyingly well constructed. There was no give when you pushed and pulled at the bars. They were welded with good material and you were left with nothing, not so much as a hairpin to try and escape. You couldn’t get yourself and the kid out while locked in this cage.

You slumped on the dirty floor and curled up on your side, holding your empty stomach as it growled painfully. You hadn’t eaten in… you thought for a moment. Since before you were taken… whenever that was. It was impossible to determine how long you’ve been gone. But by the feel of it… it could’ve been days… two? Three? Your stomach felt glued to your backbones. You swallow thickly; this fucking nausea was pissing you off.

The sound of a door sliding open signals the arrival of that fuckin’ weakling Ko’en. He avoids looking at you and pretends to be absorbed in bringing in bowls of… something. He left again and returned with more dishes, setting it up on the work table. He’s silent as he prepares the bowls with… food? It looked to be vegetables and meat. He works silently, placing bowls in the pens one by one until he gets to the kid. He pauses and reluctantly looks over to you.

“Meat.” You answer. Ko’en nods and slips a bowl through a flap in the cage to the child. The kid doesn’t go to it, choosing instead to huddle in the back of the cage away from the man who had put you both in this situation.

“He needs water.”

“I’m getting to it.” Ko’en mutters.

You watched as he prepared the rest of the food and water for the creatures. He leaves and returns again with a tray in his hands. He comes over and slides the tray through a cage flap. A bowl of questionable mush, a piece of fruit and water. As disgusting as the mush looked, you could not help but feel a sense of relief. You had feared Skurk would starve you as further punishment for your ‘disobedience.’

Ko’en hesitated at the bars of your cage.

“What?” You croak, grabbing the water and sipping it to soothe your sore throat, “You waitin’ for a ‘thank you?’”

“I’m sorry.”

You put the cup down and awkwardly stumble over to him. He pulled back, wary of the last time you came at him. You gripped the bars and stared at him, “You’re ‘sorry?’ Sorry? If you’re sorry then help get us out of here.” You force yourself to say the words without venom. “Help us escape. He’s a trafficker, Ko’en. He’s going to sell me! How can you let that happen? I was the mother to your CHILD. Please!” You didn’t hold back the tears that came. What could’ve gone so wrong in his life that he could do something like this? It ended badly between you but you could never do something so horrible to him. You turned down his bounty puck last year even though the money was needed. You didn’t have the heart to go after him.

The wretched look on Ko’en’s face gave you hope. Maybe… Maybe he’ll actually help? But his next words dashed those hopes to the ground.

“I-I-can’t. H-He’ll kill me.” Ko’en looked away, “I’ve… I’ve been on your end of that fucking prod more times than I can count!”

He pulls down the collar of his shirt, baring one side of his chest. You recoiled at the sight. His dark skin was raised in shiny welts, almost honeycombed with how close the burns were. Scorch scars both old and new. He’s been in Skurk’s control for six months and he has this many? Realization that you could be sold to someone like Skurk made you feel faint. 

You look down and lift the hem of your top. Already two raw inflamed marks marred the flesh on your waist. You swallowed, imagining more scattered over your body from that vicious prod. You drop the hem of the shirt and turn back to Ko’en. His eyes lifted from your scars back to your face, his mouth set in a grim line.

“Let me out and we can both take him. We can kill him Ko’en. He won’t stand a chance against the two of us!”

Ko’en laughed harshly, an ugly sound. The sound of someone that had had given up hope a long time ago.

“We would be killed before we accomplished anything, Fett. This ship…” Ko’en sighed, “It’s… well.. we’re-we’re not the only ones aboard.” The way Ko’en admits this piece of information makes you believe there’s a lot more to that statement.

“How many? It’s no problem just get me a damn blaster and we can get out of here! There must be escape pods.”

Ko’en shook his head in frustration, and you wanted to shake him! Make him listen because you could see he wasn’t going to give in. He’s been under Skurk’s control for too long. The fear Skurk struck in him ran too deep. Gods knew what other ‘punishments’ Ko’en endured in the past six months.

Ko’en turned, his hands rubbing his neck as he weighed his next words carefully, “There are Storm troopers on board, hired by the people who want the… your pet. I don’t know what the big deal is about that thing but it seems to be important enough for the buyers to send Storm troopers to guard us during transport.”

“The Galactic Empire is dead… who’s commanding these Storm troopers?”

Ko’en sat down heavily on a stool and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Though this conversation wasn’t pleasant, it almost felt... comforting speaking to someone. Even if that someone was responsible for the nightmare you’re in. You stepped away from the bars and paced your cage to stretch your overworked muscles as you listened to Ko’en.

Ko’en didn’t know much, but it was more that you knew about galactic politics. He spoke about the rising powers to fill the throne the Empire had left vacant. Many of those that were in power before the downfall have risen again. Ko’en had overheard Skurk speaking to an older man decked out in black the day they left Canto Bight. ‘First Order’ came up several times during their hushed conversation. Your ears pricked up at that. You had heard it before. Spoken in seedy bars and some of the less than reputable bounty hunters have talked about it eagerly. When questioned about the First Order, they clammed up and eyed you suspiciously. You had begun to think it was a gang or something and had put it from your mind.

In the past you had purposefully gone out of your way to avoid talk of politics. You’d never understood it and unless it impacted your way of life you never had put much thought into it. Now… you wished you’d paid more attention.

“Who took Palpatine’s place?” Of all the names you remembered, Darth Vader’s and Emperor Palpatine were the ones your father spoke of the most. That, and the New Republic, the ones that took down the Galactic Empire.

Ko’en shrugged, “I don’t know. Anytime an officer meets with Skurk I am sent away. I’ve tried to find out what I can the past few days but anytime I approach any Storm Trooper they send me away. When I tried to hang out with them they reach for their blasters.”

He blew out a puff of air and rubbed his face hard, “I would give anything to go back to Elenta and pretend the past 5 years never happened.”

You make a face and he sees, “What?”

You threw up your hands in frustration, “You can’t change the past. But you can change what happens now. Help us Ko’en. Fix this…” You point to the kid, “He is going to die in there.” You look to him beseechingly, “Please.”

Ko’en stood abruptly, “Dammit woman,” He slammed a fist onto the metal work table and stood. He left without a backwards glance.

You son of a bitch… You bastard!

You hit the bars and screamed in your frustration and anger. Your voice echoed back at you in the empty laboratory. The animals skittered in their cages, startled by your cry. You fought against the despair creeping into your thoughts, already beginning to feel its numbing hold.

You can’t give up.

* * *

Either Skurk was not coming to Corellia or they have not yet arrived. Mando’s grip on his temper reflected in the deep impressions his grip left on the bar’s surface. He had spent the better part of the day scouring the Coronet Spaceport, keeping an ear out for anything that could lead him to Skurk’s whereabouts. He thought he scoured a lead when he overheard about a ‘special auction’ taking place at an abandoned speeder factory nearby. He followed the couple at a distance, using his helmets technology to track them in the crowd. His heart raced when they slipped through an obscured alley into a doorway leading down into a receiving shipment bay. Mando waited and scanned the building. Very few heat signatures registered. He frowned, finding it odd there were so few attendants.

Mando slipped in after the couple and stealthily stayed within the shadows before coming upon the impromptu show room. A Galactic Empire flag hung over the room. Beings of every race milled among the displays of the special auction.

The special auction was remnants of the Galactic Empire and relics of planets long ago destroyed. From where Mando hid, he could make out a woman’s ceremonial garb from the planet Alderaan. As interesting as this auction was, it had not been what Mando was looking for.

“A drink sir?”

Mando looked up, remembering where he was. A tired looking man watched him from the other side of the bar, dusting off a glass with a dirty rag. The man quirked an eyebrow, waiting for his response.

Mando shook his head, “No, thank you.” He sat back in his chair and looked round the small establishment, trying to remember how long he had been sitting there. A handful of bar patrons sat at the scattered tables, smoking and talking amongst themselves. It was a dirty establishment, that’s why he had come. His helmet filtered the air, but even he wrinkled his nose at the smell of trabac and stale spirits. Bottom feeders didn’t visit the high end bars and eateries in Corellia. Maybe he could get a lead from someone?

“A bite to eat then perhaps?”

Mando again declined, wondering why he decided to come to the bar in the first place. He wasn’t there to eat or drink... so why did he end up here? The man shrugged and moved off to serve a customer. Mando knew his time was limited before the barkeep decided that his chair was better suited for a paying patron.

She and the kid were still out there… but where? Mando pulled out the tracking fob and watched the slowly blinking red light. The kid was closer than before, but not close enough.

He toyed with the fob pensively. In all his years as a bounty hunter, he had never wanted to find someone this badly before. Every moment spent without them felt like eons. His fostered fatherhood over the child had felt like an obligation he owed to the guild that raised him. Now he would give anything to see that little green nuisance alive and well, wreaking havoc on his ship.

The chair beside him moved and a body settled into it. Mando glanced over, seeing a feminine body draped in a cloak. She gestured to the barkeep and ordered a drink. Mando pocketed the fob and made to stand.

The woman’s next words stopped him in his tracks, “She’s alive… they both are.”

* * *

“Good morning my beauties.” Skurk’s voice cut through your thoughts upon his entrance into the laboratory. All you wanted to do was sleep. The more time you spent asleep, the less time you spent anxiously thinking of your situation. You watched him go from cage to cage, looking in on the depressed creatures he had captured.

He stopped at one cage and sighed, “Aw you didn’t make it.” He unlocked the cage and picked up the limp body of a dune-runner. Its normally rich golden red that fur traders worshiped was matted and dark. From where you were seated, the creature’s ribs were visible, weeks of neglect and mistreatment apparent.

Skurk unceremoniously dumped its body in a trash receptacle and continued his documentation of the creatures in his ‘care.’ Two more species were found deceased in their cages. You blink back the tears at the callous treatment. If they were in their natural habitat and not in this hell they would be thriving! All the species here were poor reflections of the ones you’ve seen during your travels.

Skurk paused at the kid’s cage. He noted the untouched food and frowned as he notated it in his notebook. You had to stop yourself from speaking out. You know the kid would fare better if he was kept with you. Your side still ached from the last time you attempted to convince Skurk to leave the kid in your cage. Skurk continued logging and notating each species in the cages until he got to you.

Skurk smiled thinly, “And how are you fairing Miss Fett?” He paused, pen held over his notebook as if eagerly awaiting your dictation. Asshole. At your silence he pressed glancing at your middle, “Let’s get a look at that mark. See if it needs tending to. Wouldn’t do for me to sell infected goods now would it?”

You doubt your health was in the forefront of his mind but you didn’t want to find out what he’d do if you refused. Hesitantly, you lifted your shirt to show him the marks. His eyes dropped to your midriff. The look in his eyes made your skin crawl… and for good reason. His gaze wandered from your waist to your legs and back up leisurely. It was almost as if he was seeing you for the first time. You didn’t like it. Not at all.

His gaze met yours and you visibly cringed when he winked at you.

“Has anyone told you you’re really fucking creepy?” You snapped at him. Your statement effectively wiped the expression from his face, replacing it with murderous rage. All you wanted was to stop him from looking at you like that, now you regretted your words.

Skurk was a vain man. You remembered the look in Ko’en’s eyes when he had laughed when the kid bit Skurk’s finger.

You recognize that look now.

Fear

Your face was a mirror of Ko’en’s that day.

Your mind flew to the prod and Skurk sees your panicked glance at the table.

_Shit…_

A knowing smile curls his lipless mouth as he glanced to where the damned thing rests on the table. An involuntary tremble overtakes your legs when he steps towards it. The trembling increased when instead of looking back to you; he looks over at the cage across the laboratory.

The Child’s.

“You seem to have a rather short memory my dear.” He mused aloud.

You cry out when he unlocks the cage and roughly yanks the child from the dark confines. The kid yelps when Skurk rips him from the cage by an arm. He struggles in his grasp, emitting panicked cries of pain.

“STOP!” You shout, grabbing the bars and shaking them futilely. Damn you! Damn you! What have you done?! You had unintentionally bated him and Gods you regretted it now!

“Please! I’m sorry! Don’t hurt him! Please!” You pled frantically, watching the kid twisting in Skurk’s cruel grip. Never had you felt so helpless!

Skurk shook the kid by the arm, watching you when the kid screeched and cried. He stopped, and when you looked up at him he grinned and jerked his arm. You cried at the kid’s terrified scream. “Let him go you bastard! He’s just a baby!”

“What did I say about that mouth of yours?” Skurk tsked and carried the Child to the table with the prod. He set the kid on the surface but held tight to his arm, keeping him in place against his squirming.

Dumb with horror, you watched helpless as Skurk lifted the prod and the crackle of electricity sliced the air with its intense power.

Your scream cut through the Child’s petrified cry, “ _STOP! I’LL DO ANYTHING! ANYTHING! DON’T HURT HIM!”_

Skurk turned off the prod, “Anything?”

Silence

The laboratory door slides open and Ko’en rushed into the room, looking bewildered. He took in the sight of your red tear-stained face and Skurk holding the child and prod. Comprehension was slow-coming but when it dawned… his face paled.

“I-I- heard… screams.” Ko’en explained dumbly, finally understanding the cause. Skurk thrust the distraught Child into his arms. Ko’en fumbled not to drop the kid as it squirmed and cried, his little arms reaching out for you. You dared not look at the baby. Your terrified eyes did not waver from Skurk’s calculating gaze. The look of anger was gone. He seemed… pleased? What had you just agreed to?

“Lock it up.” The rush of relief made you weak. He wasn’t going to electrocute him.

You cringed as Skurk slammed the prod on the metal table and went into a table drawer. The relief you felt was short lived when his hand emerged with a pair of cuffs and threw them through the cage bars at you, “Put these on. Tight!”

You jerk out of the way, narrowly missing being hit by the heavy manacles. What? Why does he want you to put these on?

Skurk, annoyed by your lack of comprehension snaps, “Now! Or that thing gets the prod!” You scrambled across the cage and grab the shackles. Without thinking about it you snap the cuffs over your wrists. You were already in a cage! Why the fuck does he want you cuffed? Was he going to use the prod on you again? Your body trembled against your will as Skurk approached your cage.

“Now my dear, _be good_.” He pressed a combination on the cage panel and the door swung open. The only sense of security between you and this monster now ripped away. You locked eyes with Ko’en. Fear emanated from him like a fog. He held the struggling child, watching as Skurk beckoned you out of your cage.

“Come now, I haven’t got all day.”

You stepped out of the cage and recoiled as his hand whipped out and struck you across your face. Your head snaps to the side, stars bursting white and you stagger before he grabs a fistful of your hair and hauls you forward. The painful grip and sting from the slap brings more tears to your eyes and you gasped as you fought to remain upright. Skurk pulled you before him. Through the ringing in your ears you could hear the kids cries.

“Did I fucking stutter Ko’en?! Put that thing back in the cage!” A loud _smack_ accentuated the command and you hear a _thud_ of a metal cage slamming shut.

Skurk jerked you upright by your hair and you reach up blindly with your secured wrists to loosen his grip on your screaming roots. You’re rewarded with another slap to the face for your efforts.

“Do that again and you’ll get it worse you little slut.” Skurk tsked, “You said you’ll do anything. Hm? Time to make good on your word. Be a good girl-” Skurk smirked, “And your little pet won’t be punished.” The kid… The kid… Protect the kid.

A hand gripped your ass cheek, making you rise onto your toes to avoid his touch. No… Oh Gods no! The reality of your situation hit you. He was going to… going to… You locked eyes with Ko’en, pleading with him. _Do something Ko’en! Stop him! Please!_ _Ko’en!_

Ko’en didn’t move to help you. He watched shamefaced as Skurk forcefully marched you through the laboratory door. Ko’en closed his eyes to avoid your pleading stare.

You were out of sight when your cry rang in his cowardly ears.

“ _Ko’eeeen!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, but wanted to get it out before the big one. Be aware, sensitive content next chapter. As always, I love the reviews!


	19. Survive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> Trigger Warning  
> Those that have been Sexually Assaulted or are sensitive to Sexually Assaultive Material should proceed with caution.  
> 

Chapter 19

Survive

Even though Ko’en had told you there were Storm Troopers aboard this ship, it was still shocking to see them. Even in your panicked state you counted as many of them as you could while Skurk forcefully marched you to where ever he was taking you. You counted twenty thus far, but uncertain if you were seeing the same ones over and over or different ones. Why were you counting them? You have nothing!

You’d spent hours in that cell trying to brainstorm escape ideas. Everything you’ve come up with was a far cry from being executable. You were so limited in that cage. You didn’t know what was outside those laboratory doors… As unobtrusively as possible, you scanned your surroundings, notating the hatches, security patrol, hallways and tried to get a sense of how big this ship actually was.

You tried not to cringe when Skurk’s hand palmed your ass as he escorted you to wherever he was taking you. His fingers wandered wherever they desired; over your hip, your chest, between your legs… like he didn’t care nor notice how many could see. Your face burned with humiliation and shame when a Storm Trooper took notice and blatantly watch Skurk grope your breast.

“Don’t be shy.” Skurk purred, halting your progression to stand on display before the lone Storm Trooper. Skurk’s grip on your hair kept you from pulling away when he pulled down the neck of your top, stretching the neckline to bare a breast and groping it slowly as he watched your face turn red. You were his plaything… a fucking toy to be used for his own amusement. A tear cut a path through the grime, the only sign of your shame.

“When you’re done with her…” The Trooper’s voice cut through the silence, “I’ll pay for a turn.”

Skurk chuckled, his eyes lighting with the possibilities, “We’ll see what’s left after I’m done. I might like to watch that.” He pushed you forward and you walk past the perverted Trooper, feeling his look rake down your body. To be passed around… The thought made you weak with trepidation.

Skurk halts at a door and slides a key fob through the detector. Skurk pushed you through the door into the living quarters beyond. You stumble and fall to your cuffed hands and knees, wincing as the restraints cut into your wrists from the impact. You rolled to your side and leapt up, eyeing Skurk as you straighten your top to cover you. He smiled congenially and reached behind him, pressing the button to close his entry door.

Glancing around, you see a pristine almost bare room. There wasn’t anything you could use as a weapon… not even a decorative bowl to chuck at him! Skurk began unbuttoning the clasps to his sleeves, appearing completely relaxed and nonchalant as if holding women hostage was an everyday occurrence for him.

You could rush him right now, bash his head in with the cuffs and… and… then what?

Ko’en was right… you’d be killed before you and the kid could find an escape pod. Skurk saw your panicked survey of the room and smirked.

“I trust you will remain true to your word Miss Fett.” Skurk rolled up his sleeves and stepped towards a table and went behind it. He stood and withdrew a decanter of liquor and a glass.

“ _STOP! I’LL DO ANYTHING! ANYTHING! DON’T HURT HIM!”_

You had been afraid… the kid would’ve been killed if Skurk shocked him with the prod. Silently you watched as Skurk poured himself a glass of the amber liquid and slam it back.

He made a face and raised the glass to you, offering. You glower at him. After a moment he shrugged and went back to pouring himself another.

“Seeing that you have now begged for my good graces… I expect you to uphold your end of the bargain. Do you see that lifted panel on the floor?” He indicated it across the room near the far wall, “Place your cuffs on it.”

When you don’t move, he took a sip from his drink and raised an eyebrow, “Well?” He was casual, relaxed even as he leaned against the bar of his room. It was clean and spotless as the rest of the room. Nothing seemed out of place or stood out besides the lack of ANYTHING that could fucking help you!

The lifted panel Skurk indicated was a small square welded to the middle of his sleeping quarters beyond the open doorframe. It stood maybe two feet in height and looked like something that would be tripped over often if one wasn’t aware.

Skurk’s decorator needed to be fired.

“W-What is it?”

Skurk exploded, “NOW!” He slammed the glass on the table, it shattered loudly. Startled, you flinch away and hesitantly go to the strange raised part of the floor. The fuck is it?

“Move any slower and I’ll grab your little pet. I’m sure his screams will get you moving.”

You fucking bastard.

Hopelessly, you bend down to the platform- and cry out when the cuffs jerk you down by the wrists leaving you firmly connected to the platform.

It was magnetized.

You pulled against it futilely. It was like you were welded to the platform, it had no give. You were well and firmly stuck on your knees with your wrists secured.

Pleased, Skurk walked over to you, flicking the remnants of his drink from his fingers, “There… now that’s a sight,” he purred.

A hand threaded through your hair, gripping it and pulling your head back to look up at him. Skurk’s ice blue eyes glinted in anticipation when he looked you over. You glared at him, wishing you had just one hand free so you could scratch those eyes right out of his skull.

“Now don’t look at me like that… you offered.” Skurk’s hand dropped to the growing bulge between his legs. He rubbed it thoughtfully as the hand in your hair continued to comb through your tresses. You felt the slight pressure as he pushed the back of your head, moving you closer to his groin.

“Be a good girl… no biting.”

He unfastened his pants and pulled them down, his engorged dick flopping out over the waistband. You averted your eyes and yelped when he roughly jerked your head back to face it. No no no no! Of all the terrible things you’ve done and had to endure this had never been one of them!

His hold on your head tightened as he fisted himself, bringing himself to your mouth and pressed the head of his dick against your tightly sealed lips.

“Open… your… fucking mouth!” The head smushed against your teeth and he jerked your hair again, causing you to gasp and he took that opportunity to thrust the abhorred appendage into your mouth. You gagged, every conscious thought screaming at the intrusion. You balked and Skurk grabbed your jaw, pushing your lip over your teeth to keep you from biting down. Your body spasms, trying to get away but can’t.

You heard him groan when he started thrusting into your mouth and hit the back of your throat. He felt you gag and slammed you down fully onto him, making you look up into his eyes with tears in yours.

“You puke… you’ll be punished.” He warns. Punished?! More than this hell! Tears poured from your eyes as you choked and gagged on him. He pulled back far enough for you to suck in some air before he started abusing your mouth and throat. Every ounce of your being screamed at what was happening. To be violated by this monster! Skurk moaned over you, caressing your hair as he told you how well you were doing.. how much money he would get when he sold a pretty little slut like you-

“Get your hands off her!”

Skurk jerked upright, pulling out of your mouth with a suddenness that hurt. Through your tears you see Skurk staring down at you with an odd expression as you coughed and gasped for air. Skurk’s dick, still glistening from your throat, softened to a sad shriveled worm against his pants.

Gods… Gods! Ko’en!

Ko’en held a blaster to the back of Skurk’s head. You could see his arm tremble… with adrenaline or with fear? But his voice didn’t waiver. It was strong and assured even if his nerves were not. Ko’en didn’t look away from Skurk, his face set in an angry mask of barely concealed rage.

“I said…Get Your Hands Off!” He jammed the blaster’s barrel against Skurk’s skull, accentuating the command. Skurk released his grip on your hair and you sag against your restraints.

He’s here… After everything he’s done… he’s here now…

Skurk looked down at you as he pulled his pants back over himself. His eyes locked with yours… your heart froze in your chest. That wasn’t the look of a man outmatched.

Time slowed.

Skurk smiled grimly, almost sadly as he whipped around.

The ring of the blaster echoed in your ears. Ko’en’s face went blank… and he crumbled to the ground, a blaster wound burning red in the center of his chest.

NO! KO’EN!

You didn’t realize you were screaming until Skurk turned and pistol whipped you across the face. Bright stars exploded and you fell over, stunned. A high pitched painful ring overwhelmed your senses and it took a few minutes before you came somewhat to your senses. Skurk was speaking to someone. Lifting your head, you see Skurk standing over Ko’en, speaking to him.

You groaned, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Ko’en? Ko’en… No… Skurk paced around Ko’en’s still form, shaking his head almost regretfully.

“You were always more trouble than you were worth.” Skurk nudged him with a boot, “Imbecile… decide to grow a backbone and look what you got.”

Ko’en’s body lay unmoving on the cold metal floor, his blaster beside him, unfired. He’s gone… He tried… Dammit he fucking tried to save you! You swallowed back the lump in your throat at the sight of Cassian’s father.

Gone.

_You monster…_

Skurk chuckled quietly and glanced at you, amused by your bloodied face and murderous glare, “Well my dear, looks like he opened up an opportunity for you.” A hand stroked your face and you recoiled at the touch.

Skurk knelt and seized the back of your head, pulling your face close to his, “I am out of an assistant…” His ice blue eyes searched your face and landed on your lips. He shoved his lipless mouth onto yours as he grip prevented you from pulling away.

Repulsed, you tried to get away from his touch but he held firm. Skurk smiled against your lips and pulled away to see your face, “You’re my _little pet_ now…” he leaned forward and licked the blood from the corner of your mouth, “And if you want to live, you must make me very… _very happy_.” His thumb ran over your lower lip slowly and pushed into your mouth. You gagged on it and he pushed his thumb down on your tongue, feeling the muscle twitch and jerk trying to push him out.

“Now…” Skurk sighed, pulling his hand from your mouth and dropping it to his pants, “Where were we?”

A muffled grunt made Skurk turn.

The sound of the blaster echoed in the room and Skurk jerked with a cry and collapsed beside you. The echo from the blast faded and your ears stopped ringing. Confused, you stared at Skurk’s sprawled before you. The back of his neck a bloody smoking mess.

He’s… dead?

Over Skurk’s lifeless body you see Ko’en pulling himself across the floor to you, still holding his blaster.

He’s alive!

“Ko’en!” You cried, straining against the magnetized cuffs to get to him. He’s alive he’s alive he’s alive! Ko’en slowly crawled to you, face red with pain an exertion and stopped, panting your name.

The strain was too much, the pain overwhelming. Sluggishly he reached over Skurk and into his pocket and fumbled as he pulled out a fob.

“Get him… and get… out.” Ko’en gasped brokenly. He pushed something on the fob and the cuffs popped open. You dove for him, grabbing him before he slumped over. You pulled him onto your lap and looked him over, but the blaster wound in the center of his chest was a death sentence. It was amazing he hadn’t died instantly…

You couldn’t stop the tears that fall as you held him while he struggled for breathe. His pain filled eyes looked into yours and you forced yourself to smile, “You saved me Ko’en… you did it.” You wiped a thumb over his cheek, wiping away his tear.

“I’m… I’m so sorry-“ He coughs and winces.

You nod, “I know I know. You fixed it. Hold on Ko’en, you can make it.”

The lie sounded hollow even to your ears and Ko’en smirked, “C’mon Fett – _cough-_ don’t lie. I’m done- I’m sorry-sorry I couldn’t stop… him.”

He drew in a ragged breath and blood burbled over his lips and he coughed, “Get him… get out.” His body spasmed in your arms, fighting for air and life in its last moments. You watch, helpless as the light faded in his eyes, you shook him, wanting him to hear one last thing!

“Ko’en! Ko’en I forgive you! Stay with me! Don’t go!”

The life went out in his eyes, and the only sign he heard you was the small smile left on his face.

You clutched him to you and a keening cry tore from your chest. He was gone! After everything he’s gone! You rocked him and cried over the loss of the last person remaining from your past…

* * *

BRAAAAAAWWWW!

BRRRAAAAAWWWW!

BRAAAAAAWWWW!

You jerked, startled at the alarm and the lights going out. An emergency light flashes, illuminating the room in a red glow. What? What’s going on?! Ko’en’s body had gone cold in your arms. Any semblance of life had faded in the hour. Your face felt tight and eyes swollen from crying. How long had you lain there cradling him?

Heavy feed stampede past the door as the alarm continues. You wipe the tears from your face and look down at Ko’en’s lifeless face. _You saved me… after every terrible thing you’ve done you did it… Thank you._ You took some comfort knowing he had not died alone.

You placed a soft kiss on his brow and whispered a small prayer that he finally can rest easy. The last loved one from your previous life was gone… You closed his eyes with your fingertips and laid him on the cold floor.

The alarm blared in your ears as you move to grab the discarded blasters from Skurk and Ko’en. Checking both you find there was possibly enough to get you by. The distraction from whatever set off the alarms helped you. The Storm Troopers had vacated your end in order to address whatever threat they were dealing with.

Was… was it Din? Had he found you?! Your chest tightened at the thought but no, you couldn’t let yourself hope. You needed get you and the child out of this. You can’t rely on him to save you this time. You hold a hand to your face, wincing at the bruised skin and cuts left by Skurk. You angrily rub away your tears at the abuse you had endured and you go over to Skurk’s body. You stare down at his unseeing eyes… and you aim the blaster… and shoot him.

Right between his legs.

Gods you wished he was alive to feel that. You shake out of it and force yourself to move. You can’t be in your feeling right now, you need to move, to get the kid, to survive and escape.

You go to the sink and gulp down as much water as you could. Skurk kept you dehydrated to keep you weak. You look around the sparsely furnished room and ransack the cupboards and drawers quickly. Nothing of use!

More footsteps barreled down the hallway outside the door and you ready yourself to make a break for the lab. Get the kid and get out. You need to find an escape pod!

The door slides open without your control and a man and… a beast barrel in, knocking you to the ground with a cry!

The man lands on top of you, knocking the air from your lungs. You cry out and hit him upside the head with a blaster, “Get Off ME!”

The beast roared and suddenly you’re picked up and heaved across the room!

The impact your body makes with the floor made your bones rattle! Owww

You groaned and pull yourself up, pointing both blasters at the two intruders. It was a Wookie… and a fucking big one at that! The beast stood over seven feet tall and was decked out in an ammo bandolier, growling menacingly. The man that had crashed into you had regained his footing and now held two blasters evenly at you; out of breath as he surveyed the scene before him. He appeared slightly older than you, and handsome… if you had a moment to appreciate it. Brown hair curled just over his ears and he wore a white shirt under a leather brown vest strapped with two blaster holsters. That was a nice rig… 

You both panted, eyeing each other over the dual barrel blasters pointed at one another.

“Whoa kid… take it easy.” The man placated, his gaze returning to the dual blasters black holing him and his companion. Take it easy?! Kid?! The alarm continued overhead and you put two and two together. They were the reason for the alarm.

“Who are you?!” You eyed them, “You’re not with the First Order.”

The Wookie made to raise some sort of blaster towards you before the man waved him down. He once again glanced at the dead bodies of Skurk and Ko’en and back at you. The man looked you up and down, noting your bloodied face and neglected appearance. You knew you were a sight… you hadn’t seen your reflection in days and knew you looked like shit.

The man lowered his blaster and raised a hand, “I’m Han and this is Chewie… Are you alright?”

Are you alright? Alright? You almost laughed, the stress of the past few days making you feel almost manic.

“No, I’m not alright. We need to get out of here, can you help with that?” You need to get the kid and get out of there before someone notices Skurk missing.

Han and Chewie looked at each other, “We need to find someone first; a young Wookie. Have you seen one?”

Yes. You remember seeing a juvenile Wookie when you had first awoken in Skurk’s lab. It was in the next biggest cage adjacent from yours. She never made noise… but she moved every so often so you knew she was still alive. They were there for her?

“Yes! She’s in the lab. Help me get there; I got to get my kid. Do you have a ship?!”

Han nods, looking relieved, “We do. Where’s the lab?”

“Follow me.” With a plan now in view, you felt exhilarated. You eyed the Wookie when you passed Han to the sliding panel door, he growled at you before Han hushed him.

You explained the path to the lab and finished with, “You leave us here, and I will kill you both.” 

Despite the threat, Han winked at you, “I don’t doubt that.”

The door slides open and you both scan the passageways. It was clear. You nod down the corridor and Han and the Wookie follow you, covering you as you all made your way through the hallways.

The halls pulsed with a red light and the alarm made your already aching head pulse with pain. You stumble and Han grabs your arm, pulling you back up, “Keep going.” You shake your head and try to focus.

You come across two Storm Troopers, but Han and his Wookie dispatch them before you could raise your blaster. They knew what they were doing. They handled themselves with the ease of ones familiar with conflict and battle. They did not have the jitters you would normally see with ones new to fire fights. If anything, these two seem entirely comfortable exchanging blasts with the enemy and might be actually… enjoying it?

Who were they?

“Where are you guys from?” You pant rushing towards the lab.

“Corellia, big guy is from Kashyyyk.” You shake your head, “No, who are your people?” You didn’t see them exchange a look before Han responded, “We’re smugglers.”

“Great- here’s the door!” You look around before you shoot the control panel and you and Han force the doors to open.

The lab was in an uproar, all the animals reacting to the flashing red lights and audible alarm. You go to the kid’s cage and grab him. The relief you felt holding his big eared body to yours was the best in the world. He burrowed his face into your chest and you grab a towel and secure him to your chest with it so you can have both hands free. Han finds the juvenile Wookie they’d been looking for and the little Wookie and Chewie talk excitedly in their growly dialect before Han shuts them up.

“Reunion later! Grab her and let’s go!” Han looks to you and notes the makeshift carrier strapped to your chest, “You good?”

You nod and pat the child safely attached to your makeshift carrier, “We’re good. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

The child clutched at your top and you felt him whimper. This was your chance to get you both out of here. You didn’t know these two guys but they were your only hope and for some reason you felt that you could trust them.

Chewie grabbed the small female Wookie and hefted her over his shoulder onto his back. She held on to his fur with her paws and peeked over his shoulder at you. You gave her a small smile and picked up your acquired blasters and lined up with Han at the door.

“Our ship is in the docking bay, we took out a good amount of Troopers but who knows how many more are out there-“ Han looked to you for an answer but you shook your head, not able to give him one.

Han sighed and nodded, “All for everything. Follow me.”

The ship was bigger than you originally thought; the hallways seem to go on forever. Skurk’s ship could not belong to him, there was no way he had the funds for one this big. Down every hall you saw a flag with an odd geometric shape that you decided must be the First Order insignia. Whatever Storm Troopers your group came across were quickly dispatched before more alarms were raised from your presence.

You followed Han and Chewie, the two juggernauts clearing the way of any and all obstacles. You admired their teamwork. They fought and took on each enemy like they were extensions from one form; each seemingly to know what the other anticipated and acted. Never once had you needed to raise your blasters; they took care of anything.

“Jeez you could leave me some table scraps.” You tried to joke, sliding in behind Han before another hallway.

Han smirked, “No offense, you look like you’ve been through hell. Let us take care of this.”

He nudges your shoulder and sends you a grin that must make some women weak at the knees or incredibly irritated. He was right; you weren’t cocky enough to pretend that what you just went through had no effect. Lack of food… water… the prod… Skurk… You were drained. The only thing keeping you going was the promise of freedom for you and the child.

Han see’s the change in your demeanor and nods, “Do what you’re able, just stay alive, for you and your kid.”

You lock eyes with him and nod.

Chewie belts out a warning roar when Storm Troopers flood the passageway, charging right for you. The hallway lights up with red as blasts are fired from both ends. You hit several before the threat is taken care of.

“Jeeezzzzzzaaaa!” Han crows, holstering his smoking blasters and pulling out two more from hidden ankle holsters, “You can shoot!” He acknowledges with an impressed glance your way, “Ya know who we are ma’am, but we don’t have the pleasure of knowing whose presence we’re honored by.”

Chewie barks a quick admonishment that you understood as, “Let’s go!” He takes off down the hall with the female Wookie holding on for dear life. You hold the kid to your chest to keep him from being jostled and tell Han your name, “I’m a Bounty Hunter.”

“What bounty was big enough to end you up into this shit hole?” Oh Han… you have no idea. You didn’t have an answer for him and luckily you were saved from providing one when you entered the docking bay.

Han silently gestured towards a disk like ship and you three made a run for it. It did not go unnoticed. Shouts rang out all around and mechanical whirls filled the air. You hunch over the kid and run like hell.

“Stop them!”

“HALT!”

“Stop her!”

“Get the asset!”

The last command made you beat your feet that much harder! They will not get him! You were on Han’s heels as you three ran for the ship. Blasts pinged off the floor around you and you almost cried with joy when the ships ramp lowered for you. Chewie and the female Wookie dashed up the ramp and you followed Han and---!

A sharp pain rips through your side, throwing you off your feet and off the ramp, “AHHGGGHHH!” Han turns at your cry, seeing you fall off the ramp.

You’ve been hit! Oh Gods… No! You were so close! The floor vibrated under the Storm Troopers boots stampeding towards you. You barely felt a jerk on your arm and you’re being dragged up the ramp on your back.

It hurts… Fuck it hurts so much! Blast rain around you and you had enough in you to point your blaster at the sea of Troopers and pepper them with the worst aimed shots you would never admit to. You vision fades to black at the edges but you fight it. You scream, firing with all you had left in you as Han pulled you into the hull of the ship.

The hatch closed and you clutch your small charge, feeling for any wounds on him. Your mind is fuzzy, pain fogged but he is fine… Thank the Maker… he’s ok!

Faintly you hear blasts ricocheting off the ship and Han barking commands at Chewie. It felt very dreamlike. Was this a dream? The floor heaved up beneath you, the engines of the ship roar in your ears.

You fade to black and open your eyes to Han slapping your face, “Stay with me!” The only sound was the white noise of hyperspace.

You escaped. You’re free! You touch your side and a white hot flash of pain knocks the breath out of you. You gasped and bring your hand into view. It was covered in blood. You’ve been shot. Shit.

Where’s… where’s the kid?!

Han held him… staring at the big eared green child with something akin to… recognition? The kid fussed in his arms, stretching out his to you and Han placed him beside you, “We got to clean that up.”

“No-“ You pushed the kid away from you… You won’t let him heal you… He was already too weak. It would be too much for him. You look to Han, your vision blurring, “Take him, don’t let him come close… it’ll be too much.” The energy it took to speak was draining. You felt yourself fading. Please… Gods please let these be good people.

You fell back against the floor, and everything went black.

* * *

“What happened to her?”

“Hell… She’d been there awhile. One of the bodies I found with her had blaster wounds to the groin. I’d say he was her main tormentor.”

The woman winced as she looked at the newcomer in the medbay stretcher. The bruises were dark under the florescent light and she was an unhealthy pale shade. The wound to her side was cauterized and bandaged and IVs flowed nutrients into her depleted body.

“Who is she? Why does she have that child that looks like Master Yoda?”

“Leia, I told you all I know. But you better call Luke, he’ll know what to do.”

* * *

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	20. The New Republic

Chapter 20

The New Republic

A red flash.

Another red flash!

It came sooner than the last flash.

Mando held his breath, leaning forward over the ships control panel to watch the tracking fob closely. Wait… wait… there! Yes! It was blinking faster. He was closer to the kid, and hopefully her.

The tracking fob had originally led him to the airspace surrounding Coruscant before it slowed down. Mando barely contained his rage when he saw his trek to the planet had yield nothing but disappointment and an almost empty fuel tank. He had to land to refuel and obtain supplies. He wasn’t the only one on board anymore.

The Twi’lek woman from the bar sat casually in her seat, reading a book she propped up on one knee. Mando didn’t trust her. But he when she asked to accompany him, he felt a strange compulsion to allow it. Now when he glanced at her, he saw her attention was diverted from the book she held. Her eyes were on the blinking fob before him. Her eyes flicked up to him, “We’re close.”

* * *

Skurk smiled down at you as he stepped over Ko’en’s body, still smoking from the blast that ended his life. The rooms florescent lights were bright, the glare of them making your head hurt. Your throat tightened, heart banging in your chest as Skurk approached you. Skurk’s hand reached down to his groin, a predatory gleam in his eyes. “Now my dear, let’s see if you’re worth keeping your around.” He grabbed you by the neck and slammed you against the wall. Terror gripped you like a vise… No… you weren’t here! Skurk was dead and you got away!

The scene changed… it was dark. The only light you see was a thin strip at the floor of a far wall. A door. A warm arm draped over your middle and tightened, pulling you in tight to a muscular chest. Din. Relieved, you wiggle into his warmth, smiling when you feel that part of him wake up. “ _Mi’ona_ ,” You could hear the smile in his voice as he pulled your leg over his waist. Moaning, you arch back, eyes rolling back when he stretched you open in the most delicious way-!

Everything changed again. The symphony of cicadas around you made you wince. You looked around, seeing the tall trees and the humidity making your clothes stick uncomfortably to you. Where were you? A crunch of leaves behind you called your attention to an oddly familiar clad figure. He held a long range rifle, aiming at something in the distant village visible between the trees. You looked to the village and could vaguely see a cluster of children. Wait… what? No! You drew your blaster and shot the figure without hesitation.

Sun blinded you. Gone were Din and the dark. A baby garble brought your attention to the hoverpod. Din, perched on a ladder worked on the Razor Crest left engines wiring and the child watched. You went over and plucked the child from his pod and lifted him up, chuckling when he cooed and made to grab a lock of your hair. You spun him around and cradled him to you, loving the way he goes ragdoll when you hug him. “Hey froggy. You watching your daddy?” You placed a kiss on his wrinkled forehead and look up when a glint of sun reflected off a metal surface. Din walked towards you and your heart fluttered in your chest. So much danger and control within him and he showed you affection. You smiled and reached up, laying a hand against the sun-warmed beskar helmet, “Ready for a break, bucket-head?” You winked. He huffed a laugh and reached around to squeeze your bottom. Yes, he was ready for a break.

Dad met you at the door, a huge grin on his weather beaten face as he turned and showed you Cassian attached to his back in a sling, “Haha I made him a carrier. I feel like a TonTon!” You laughed and reached for your son.

“Mama!” Cassian giggled when you picked him up. By all the stars you had missed him. You kissed him and he squealed when you blew a raspberry on his neck. His laughter was infectious and your father chuckled taking off the sling. You held him to you and your mother called from the kitchen, announcing dinner was ready. Dad patted you on the back, “Let’s go eat before your mother turns us over to the Hutts.”

You smiled and followed your father to the smell of a delicious dinner.

The sun beat down on you, zapping you of energy and souring your mood. Tall twisted palms of pink and green cast shadows on the sand and squat structures around you. You jerked around… you knew this place as well as you knew yourself. Elenta. You hadn’t been here since…

“Fett.” Greef Karga approached, his normal jaunty classic mood dulled.

You heard yourself say, “What is it Karga. I got the bounty. Off load him and let me go home.” The dejavu of those words struck a painful nerve deep inside you. The look on Karga’s face gave you pause.

“What is it?” You heard the frustration in your voice and cringed. Knowing and hating the words that come next would destroy you.

“Fett… there’s been an incident. Your family… I’m sorry.”

Your mind felt like it was being ripped apart! Scenes from your life flashed before your eyes like a picture movie. Din, the kid, Skurk, Ko’en, Peli Motto, Toro Calican, Xi’an, Greef, Cassian, Dad, Mom… The pain built in your head, feeling as though your thoughts and the very core of your being was being rummaged in a chaotic blur of knife sharp pain and painful memories. You scream and thrash against the hold on your mind.

Make it stop!

MAKE IT STOP!

AHHHHHHH!

* * *

Luke held onto control as long as he could. Sweat beaded his forehead as he concentrated the force of his power on the unconscious woman before him.

His sister, Leia, and her lover, his friend Han had asked him to come see what he could uncover about the mysterious woman with the green child that looked so much like his late Master Yoda.

The small creature emanated a force signature so strong it staggered Luke. Was this a reincarnation of Master Yoda? The force this child possessed was unlike anything Luke had felt in the short years he had studied the Jedi way. Earlier that day he had scrutinized the small child with the large ears for so long it whimpered and made a wobbling dash for the infirmary tent where the woman lay.

“She doesn’t want him near her.” Han had told him when he scooped up the child and brought him back to Luke.

“Why?” The woman does not want to be around this creature? The little being was… cute by alien standards. The child looked at Luke with apprehension, but Luke could feel his Force source reaching out to him tentatively. He closed his eyes and reached out with his mind to the creature, sending reassurance and thoughts of safety and good will. When he opened his eyes, he saw a glint of understanding in the child’s eyes.

Han shrugged, “Said it would be too much for him. It was the last thing she said before she went down.”

Interesting. The feeling he read from the child was concern, not for himself, but for the woman. The child wanted to go to the woman, he could make her better. He wanted her awake and wanted her hugs. He had to do something for that to happen? Luke couldn’t understand that last feeling he read from the child.

Han juggled the creature as it squirmed in his grip, “C’mon now.” Han sighed, trying to keep from dropping him, “He wants to go to her pretty bad. I’m worn out from watching him. Ben was never this much trouble when he was a toddler.”

Luke smiled at mention of his young nephew.

The dark haired little boy picked his head up at mention of his name and came over to Luke and his father, “I was a good boy?” He asked, his dark eyes glinting with a promise of praise. Han smiled openly at his son and nodded, “The very best son.”

Han looked to the child in his arm and his son, “Ben, would you take him and show him around? Keep a close eye on him. Take him to your mother; he looks like he could be hungry.” Ben looked at the child with barely contained excitement, “Yes Father!”

Han set the child down next to Ben and Ben took the kids hand in his, “C’mon!” He smiled down at the wide eyed child, “Mama made food. Hungry?”

He tugged on the kids arm to get him to follow him. The kid looked back at the tent and at Luke. Luke nodded to the child, “I’ll look after your mother.” The child blinked at him and looked at Ben. Ben smiled down at him, “We can play ‘toss’ afterwards! It’s fun! C’mon!”

The child made up his mind and dutifully followed Ben to the promise of food.

Han tore his eyes away from his retreating son and looked back to Luke and the infirmary tent beyond, “She’s in there.”

And then he went to work on the woman. Reaching into her mind to see who she is and what she knew about the child. Han and Leia had expressed their concerns but what he saw in her mind staggered him.

So much pain in the woman’s life: She had survived everything the universe threw at her and had not lost herself.

The more he dug deep into her memories to uncover her intentions, the more she fought against his prying. Luke had only performed this type of search on a few Empire prisoners to look for Imperial holdouts in the months following the battle of Endor.

The woman thrashed on the cot, fighting with everything she had against the memories his search had brought to the surface. He had to be careful. She was in a fragile state; if he pressed too hard it could cause her to… Luke pushed it from his mind.

It wasn’t sweat dripping from his cheeks, it was tears. The heartache and pain of her past was his own while he held her mind. But he was inexperienced and his hold on her mind wavered.

Before Luke could make the decision to retreat from her mind she awoke violently. She jerked off the bed, seeing him and cocked him right across the face.

Luke fell back, the force of the blow making his ears ring.

“Who the fuck are you?!” The woman shouted. She pulled herself off the cot and cried out, faltering when the extent of her blaster wound made itself known. She grabbed the edge of the cot to keep from falling fully onto the ground.

Luke stepped forward to help.

“Stay away from me!” She snapped at him, eyes wide, “And stay the fuck out of my head!” She looked around the infirmary tent and back at him, “Where am I? Where’s… where’s the baby?!” The question made her heave herself up, teeth gritted in pain.

“Where is he?!”

“He’s safe!” Luke placated, wanting her to relax. The wound was no longer fatal but she needed rest. The woman looked down at the IV fluids in her arm and ripped them out angrily, “I need to see him, I need to see he’s okay.”

Luke winced seeing a trickle of blood flow from the ripped IV port. He held up his hands, “I’ll get Han and the baby. Your baby is fine, he’s great. He’s playing with my nephew. Please… please just wait here. You’re wounded and need rest. I’ll explain everything.”

The woman’s chest heaved, panting with adrenaline and no doubt pain. She looked everywhere, probably for a weapon to use against him. Luke could use compulsion on her to get her to calm down, but she would probably rip him apart when she shook out of it. Luke took a step back, his hands held out showing he didn’t mean her harm. His cheek throbbed; damn she had some power in that arm! His lightsaber was strapped to him underneath his cloak out of view. He didn’t see any need to use it at that moment. 

The woman looked unsure but nodded, sitting back on the cot. Luke didn’t miss the fact her limbs were trembling and she probably would’ve collapsed again if she hadn’t sat down.

The frantic concern for the strange child reminded Luke of Leia with Ben. He had no doubt in his mind she would’ve reacted the same way in this situation. This woman truly thought of the child as hers, or at least her responsibility.

Luke wondered where the Mandalorian was that he saw in her memories. Did he abandon them or did something happen to him? He was unable to see everything in the woman’s mind due to her fighting him tooth and nail. He had many questions for her, but that would have to wait until she was assured the child was safe.

Luke left the tent and went to search for Han. He found him with Leia and Ben. The child was eating a bowl of stew, with two bowls empty on the ground in front of him.

“He was hungry.” Leia hummed, ladling a bowl and handing it to Luke. She squinted at him, “What happened to your face?”

Luke pushed the bowl away, “She’s awake.”

That got their attention, “Awake? Did you-“

“As much as I could, she’s not Empire or First Order. She’s no threat to our people. Han, grab the child and come with me. She’s upset, she wants to see him.”

Leia put the bowl down and stood, dusting herself off, “I’m coming.”

“No.” Luke shook his head, “Stay with your son. I don’t want to overwhelm her. She’s met Han and he’d be the best one to explain things to her for now.” Leia opened her mouth to argue but Han swooped in and placed a kiss on her forehead.

“C’mon Princess, you’ll have your chance to talk to her soon enough. I doubt she can handle your big personality just yet is all.” Han grinned down at her. Leia frowned but conceded, not looking happy about being left out. Luke agreed with Han, Leia could be brash and bossy, the woman needed a calm environment for now.

Han picked up the kid, “C’mon little guy, time to see your Mama.”

* * *

You really shouldn’t have pulled the IV out… Dammit why did you do that?

You hissed when the wound on your side pulled as you eased yourself on the cot. The air in the tent was thick with the smell of antiseptic and mud. The heavy humidity in the air made you think of a jungle planet. The sun was low but it wasn’t hot. You tried to guess what time it was on this planet and you got the sense that it was late afternoon. How long had you been here?

You looked down at yourself and saw you were in different attire than when you were on Han’s ship. Gone were your khakis and black top. Good, those stunk with how long you were in that cage. You rubbed the flight suits material between your fingers. It was soft and plaint. Comfortable. It had been well worn in. You unzipped the suit to see the damage. The wound in your side was bandaged but your actions had caused it to split and leak. Ouch. Damn Storm Troopers. You felt light headed but better than you thought. In pain yes, but not as weak. The medicines these people have are pretty good.

You looked up when you heard boots squelch in the mud outside the tent. Han stepped in with the kid. Relief flooded you. The kid looked fine, healthy even. The signs from Skurk’s confinement were gone. The kid’s color was back to normal and his eyes bright and shining. He gurgled, reaching for you and Han placed him in your arms.

“How you doin’ hotshot?” Han grinned, “Thought I’d lost ya back there.”

You thought so too.

The kid clutched at you, burying his face into your chest and cooed. You winced but smiled down at the small creature, “Hey froggy, I’m okay.” You murmured into his large ears.

You looked up at Han and behind him to the man from earlier. You glared at him, “You get inside my head again you freak and I’ll put a hole in you.”

“Hey Hey Hey!” Han held his hands up between you two, “None of that. This is Luke. Luke Skywalker and I asked him to come here to help. You were out of it kid, and I needed to see if you were a threat to our people.”

Luke Skywalker? The name was familiar… wait.

“You’re Luke Skywalker? The guy that brought down the Empire?” And you just called him a freak. Good job.

“Well he had some help.” Han interjected, looking a bit miffed. Luke smiled and nodded, “The Resistance brought it down. I was just played a small part in it.”

“And I, Han Solo, mended shirts while the men were away at war.” Han snorted. His words hit you. Han Solo. Solo. This was Han Solo? Who sent your father into the Sarlacc pit on Tatooine all those years ago?!

“Han Solo?”

Han looked back to you, “Yeah?”

You worded your next words carefully, not knowing what kind of information you were about to uncover.

“Do you remember a bounty hunter… by the name of Boba Fett?”

Han frowned and looked at Luke. They both nodded, “Yeah, he froze Han in carbonite under orders of my father, Darth Vader. He died in Tatooine. Han hit his jetpack and he fell into a pit.”

Luke looked at you closely, “You knew him.” So he had seen that in your memories. Han looked at Luke, confused and back at you, “You knew Boba Fett?”

You were already at these peoples mercy. They were ‘heroes’ of the galaxy and heroes don’t kill unarmed women. Han and Chewie rescued you and the child from Skurk’s ship and they cared for your wounds. They couldn’t be that bad to allow old blood to matter.

“He was my father. He didn’t die in the Sarlacc pit. He was murdered a few years ago in our home on Elenta.”

Han’s eyebrows went up, “Huh, well no offense but the guy tried to push us into the pit. It was by pure luck I hit his jetpack and sent the bast- um, him in first.” Han coughed.

You knew the story.

Dad told you.

Well… he told you an edited version.

What he had left out of all his stories was his partnership with Darth Vader. The Empire had fallen and anything related to it was kept from mention in your household, even before it fell. Dad left for long stretches of time when you were young. When he did come home he would share stories but scrubbed versions of them.

After Nevarro you understood why. It was not only to save face but to protect you and your mother of the reality of his life. After Din healed from the fight on Nevarro, you came to him for whatever he knew about Boba Fett and Darth Vader. You needed to know. No more secrets, no more ruse, no more half-truths. 

Din knew a lot. The Bounty Hunters Guild was small, and information traveled.

Afterwards, you needed a drink. Din held you as you came to terms about the man your father once was. It was difficult being told the man who raised you with love and care, who taught you how to shoot and cared for your son was the same man who killed countless people under the orders of Darth Vader. It was a lot to take in and thank the stars Din was there to help you process it. Fuck… you miss him.

“Our dear old dads worked together… guess that makes us family friends.” You joke to cover your heartache. Luke cracked a smile at that.

You shook out of it, “We’re getting off topic. Where are we?”

Luke sat on the cot across from you, “If we tell you, would you tell anyone?” Tell anyone?

“I would tell one person. So he can pick us up and get us out of your hair. He’s trustworthy, I trust him with our lives.”

If you could reach Din using any comsystem equipment they have then your problems would be solved.

Every waking moment since the kidnapping had been spent planning escape and thinking about Din. You had no doubt in your mind he was out there looking for you both. How long had it been? A week? Two? All sense of time in that cell had been a blur. You wouldn’t know for sure until you saw Din again. You need to see him. You need him to know where you are. You need him!

“The Mandalorian.” You glanced at Luke. He had seen him too. It made you uneasy, having someone riffle through your head and memories as easily as turning pages in a book. Every memory, intimate moment, every terrible thing you’ve done in the past this man now knew of it. The thought made you uncomfortable.

Guarded, you nod, “He’s out there looking for us.” You tell Han and Luke about Ko’en and Skurk, being drugged and kidnapped from the Razor Crest and held prisoner until Han and Chewie helped you escape.

You look down at the kid in your arms, “This baby is his responsibility too. He made a promise.”

“What promise is that?”

You sighed and settled more comfortably onto the cot. The movement made you wince. The child moved and you felt his hands press on your middle. You pulled him away quickly, “No.” You admonished, holding him away from you, “Don’t.”

The child whimpered, reaching out to you. You could see the concern in his eyes and shook your head, “Not now.”

You felt their eyes on you and you met them. Luke looked from the baby to you, thinking.

“What was he trying to do?” By all the stars… You bit your lip, thinking of another explanation but couldn’t.

“He… He.. um, he was trying to make me feel better.” You replied lamely.

Luke was silent for a moment before stating, “He’s special.”

You blink, wondering if the kid has done anything while you were out. How would he know and what did he classify as ‘special?’ When you didn’t answer, Luke sighed.

“That child is special. I can feel the Force within him. I’ve only seen his kind once; my late Master Yoda. A Jedi Master. Let me ask you this: Can he move objects without touching them?”

You looked like a fish out of water. Luke knew! He’s seen his kind! He must know where they are!

“Y-Yes! You… You can feel the ‘Force’ in him? His kind.. where are they? W-We need to reunite him with his kind. We were told sorcerers would be able to help us.”

“Sorcerers?”

You nodded, “Another Mandalorian said they would help us find his kind.” You wished the Armorer had given more information but you were under attack. Din was injured and spending time questioning the Armorer was unrealistic. Din learned the whole convert was gone… either dead or vanished. Din had felt responsible because he had gone back on the Guild Code to retrieve the Child from certain death. It was a feeling he warred with every day since even though he knew he did the right thing.

“That’s a new one.” Han laughed, smacking Luke on the shoulder, “Sorcerer!”

You blinked.

And blinked.

Blink.

What.

“S-Sorcerer? You’re a sorc-“ Had you seriously discovered what Din tried so hard to find? But instead, they found you.

Luke shook his head, “I’m a Jedi.” He waved his hand, “We are not sorcerers. We are people with midichlorians in our blood. We feel the Force and the Force moves through us: Much like your little friend here. I’ll ask you again; what was he trying to do before you stopped him?”

You felt like you were having a stroke. It was difficult to form thoughts. It took several tries before you were able to explain.

“He w-was trying to heal me. He’s done it before. But I don’t want him to. It weakens him. After Skurk’s ship he… he’s too weak.”

“Skurk was the man who held you captive?” Han clarified. You nodded. Luke looked intrigued.

“He has the power to heal?” You nod again.

“Fascinating. I have yet to see that power of the Force.”

You frown, “I won’t let him. He’s been through too much. He needs rest and to replenish his strength. I know you want to see it, but I won’t allow it.”

Luke look abashed, color dotted his young cheeks and he agreed, “Apologies, I meant nothing by it.”

Luke thought for a moment and admitted, “We are on D’Qar. A planet in the outer rim. ” You hadn’t heard of D’Qar. You’d traveled to many planets in this large galaxy but this is one you were unfamiliar.

“I need to contact my Mandalorian. He needs to know the sorc-Jedi are here.”

Han shook his head, “We need to clear that with our people. For now, I think it best you get some rest. Let’s not rush into anything. If you don’t want the kid to keep trying to heal ya that I suggest we get a nurse in here and hook those meds back up.”

“Daddy?” A small voice comes from the entrance. You look over to see a small boy with an unruly mop of black hair and dark eyes peer in nervously from the tent flap.

Han turned and smiled, “Hey bud, I thought I told you to stay with Mom?” The little boy steps into the tent and looks around, his eyes falling on you and the child.

The boy pointed to the kid, “I haven’t shown him the base. You said for me to watch him. We were gonna play ‘toss.’” The boy crossed his arms, looking very miffed at being denied a playmate.

Han’s mouth opened and closed, at a loss at what to tell him. You looked to the young boy and smiled, “What’s your name?” You ask gently.

The boy, who looked no older than four, puffed up his chest, “I’m Ben Solo. Son of Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan.” The boy had his title memorized! If he was the son of a princess, wouldn’t he be a prince? You wonder why that wasn’t included in his title.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Ben Solo. I’m sure he would like to play with you. He hasn’t had a playmate in a long time.” You hand the child to Han who placed him on the ground in front of Ben, “Promise to keep a close eye on him?”

Ben took the kids hand and nodded emphatically, “I swear!” He tugged the child after him and out of the infirmary. Han was right; you needed rest. As much as you hated to wait, Han and Luke did have to clear decisions with their base.

“Nothing will happen to him.” Han assured, helping you swing your legs back onto the cot. You grimace, “Your son said base. What type of base is this?”

“This is our Resistance base for the New Republic. The First Order knows nothing of it thankfully. We’ve been able to keep it a secret this long.”

You met his eyes and nodded to his silent question, “I won’t tattle. Those fuckers did this to me,” You motion to your bruised face and side, “I’m their enemy as much as yours. They’ve been after the child; my guess is because of his abilities.”

Luke nodded, “They want to wipe out every force sensitive being in our galaxy.”

“How long have we been here?”

“Two days. You’ve been a sleepy head the whole time.” Han joked, “I’ll get the nurse. You hang tight and get comfortable. Hungry?”

You nod, feeling hungry despite the nausea that hasn’t left since Ko’en drugged you. The mention of food made your mouth water and your stomach growled in response.

Han left you and Luke alone to get the nurse and food. Luke smiled awkwardly when you met his gaze. You shifted, feeling just as awkward. After a moment Luke spoke.

“I’m sorry for… you know… that whole thing.” He ended lamely. Evading your mind? You frowned, still peeved by that invasion of privacy.

“Find what you were looking for?” Probably bit off more than he bargained for when memories of you and Din popped up. In the moments before you awoke, there were many… many… of those memories. And this guy saw them... Great.

As if he knew what you were thinking, Luke’s cheeks flushed pink against his pale skin, “Uh-Uhm well.” He coughed.

You sniggered, “Perv.”

Offended, Luke stood up, “I looked to see if you were a threat to us. Not get my rocks off.” He huffed. You had a hard time believing this guy was the legendary Luke Skywalker: flustered seeing two consenting adults… Must be a virgin.

“Whatever. Can the kid see into my mind like you can?” You steer the conversation to a somewhat stabler ground. Luke glanced at you, and answered when he saw it was a genuine question, “I’m not sure but I would think so. Does he seem to know when you or your companion is upset, angry or happy?”

You thought back and nodded. Now that you remember, when you were on Tatooine waiting for Din to return from his mission with Calican, you had been upset and frustrated. The kid had been a complete terror that day. Talking to Luke it now made sense.

“If I could spend some time with him, I would be able to get a better idea on the extent of his connection with the Force.”

“One condition.”

Luke raised an eyebrow, listening.

“I will supervise. I will not have anyone run tests on him without me there. I get to call it off if and when I think it’s going too far. Agreed?” From what he’s seen in your mind, he would understand why you set the terms in this manner.

Luke agreed and the matter was settled.

* * *

The next morning there was a woman in your tent when you awoke. You watched her silently as she laid out clothes and boots. She left and returned with a tray of food. Her eyebrows rose when she saw you were awake, watching her.

“Well good morning.” She set the tray down and extended a hand, “I’m Leia.” Not Princess Leia… just… Leia.

“Mornin’.” You mumbled, pulling yourself up into a sitting position. Leia waited for you to get situated before she placed the tray of food on your lap. A cup of Caff, eggs, and some sort of fried meat. Everything smelled delicious except the Caff. You took a sip and tried not to make a face before setting it to the side. Leia watched you closely, noting your restricted movements before you looked at her.

Her concern turned into a smile, “My son and your little boy seem to be getting along well.”

You nodded, “I’m glad he has someone to play with. How old is Ben?”

“Four. Yours?”

“Fifty.”

That took her by surprise and you smiled and took a bite of your eggs, “He’s a slow aging species.”

Leia was silent for a moment before responding, “I thought he was around Ben’s age... But if he’s that old, he can’t be the reincarnation of Master Yoda.” She said the last part as if to herself. You shrugged and took a sip of water. Leia shook herself out of her thoughts and went over to the clothes on the adjacent cot.

“If youre feeling up to it, I can bring you to our bathhouse. I have a change of clothes here for you.”

A bathhouse! Your heart leapt at the chance to feel clean again.

“Gods yes!” You scarfed down the rest of your breakfast and Leia helped untangle you from your medicine drip. She offered an arm and helped you to the bath house.

You get your first look at the Resistance base. It wasn’t much, a few ships, storage containers made into operation stations and people and aliens milling about. A few cast curious glances your way. Leia nodded in greeting to those who looked and smiled, “We get new faces often but yours caused quite a stir.” She explained.

“Hm.” You couldn’t focus on her words. It took your full concentration to remain upright. You hoped the bathhouse wasn’t much further.

She saw your discomfort and supported you the rest of the way. The bathhouse was a small thing but the smell of cleanliness emanated from it. Leia showed you where to leave your clothes and provided towels. You hated that she had to help you out of the flight suit but you were grateful for it nonetheless. You couldn’t wait to be back to normal. Maybe in a day or two you’d allow the kid to speed up the healing process.

You and Leia were the only two within the bathhouse. She got you comfortable before handing you the hair soaps and body soaps. The next minutes were spent in comfortable silence as you both set to the task at hand. It was tiring, but you were grateful that the grime was gone and you no longer wrinkled your nose when you smelled yourself.

You leaned back and smiled at Leia, “Thank you.”

Leia nodded, “I knew you must’ve been going crazy. I can’t handle being dirty for one day.”

Leia wrapped her long hair in a towel and watched you expectantly, “So Miss Fett, tell me about yourself.” Ah… girl talk.

You sighed and settled in for a long talk. One does not disobey a Princess…

* * *

The next day, hell broke loose.

Alarms rang loud over the expanse of jungle. You jerked up in your cot and listened. People shouted and footsteps ran past your tent, their shadows darkening your eyes. Something was wrong.

“Intruder ship!” The call went out.

“Battle Stations!” Another command. Oh Gods… the First Order?! The roar from X-Wing Starfighters filled the air, readying for takeoff once the command was given. The roar made your chest thrum with the vibrations. You stand and unhook yourself from the IV, not ripping them out this time and grab the boots Leia had brought you the day before.

Luke runs into your tent, “Stay in here!”

“Give me a blaster!”

Luke looked around frantically, “I don’t have one, just stay here! Leia has your boy, she’ll keep him safe!”

Before you could argue, he ran out.

Fuck!

* * *

Luke ran to Han and to the others staged in battle formation.

“What is it!?” Luke yelled over the alarms.

“A ship entered the airspace. The transponder on the shit was not emitting a signal. We couldn’t detect it until scouts saw it.” Han debriefed. Luke looked to the Resistance readying for battle and sent up a silent prayer to the Force. They had escaped detection from the new First Order for this long. If it’s a solitary ship like the scouts reported, then it could be handled quickly.

Chewie joined them, his massive form casting a shadow over them.

“No Chewie, stay with the children, protect them!” Han ordered. Chewie growled a protest but Han glared at him. A staring match ensured before Chewie gruffed a complaint and stormed away, stomping as he went.

“It’s coming!” The call went out. By all the stars! The ship was an ancient thing! The behemoth hovered a moment, kicking up the dust into the eyes of those present. The ship touched down, the landing made the earth shake below Luke’s feet. Luke called his lightsaber into his palm but didn’t activate it. He would wait. His heart hammered in his chest and he felt Han shift beside him.

“Whatever comes, take care of Leia and my boy.” Damn you Han, why do you always have to say that…

Luke nudged him, “Whatever comes, take care of my sister and my nephew.” He didn’t have to look to know Han smiled at that. Anytime they came across trouble, they made the same request to each other. Thank the stars they never had to live to that request.

The ship shut off and the loading bay door fell open. All was quiet; everyone waiting for the occupants to emerge. Friend or Foe? The trees stopped swaying from the wind kicked up by the engines. Steps were heard. One set.

All breath was held when a droid descended the ships plank. A blaster held in each hand at the low ready.

No… it wasn’t a droid.

“Hold your fire!” The command came from Luke. Han looked to him, confused.

The man encased in steel stepped into the clearing, looking around to the women, men and aliens pointing their weapons at him.

“WHERE ARE THEY?!” His modulated voice rang out loud and clear. The Resistance shifted, aiming at the man but obeying Luke’s command. The Mandalorian was agitated, Luke could see that plainly enough. He wanted to step out and go to him but who knew what little thing could set him off!

“WHERE IS SHE! WHERE IS THE KID!?” The Mandalorian bellowed, his dual blaster charges powering up.

The sound set off one rookie rebel.

PING!

Oh Gods! The blast ricochets off the Mandalorian’s armor. His dual blasters rose to the surrounding rebels.

“STOP!”

It didn’t come from Luke.

It was a woman.

It was her.

She stood at the edge of the clearing, chest heaving and hair wild as she gasped for breath. The distance from the infirmary tent to the clearing was not far, but probably felt like miles in her state. She shouldn’t be up!

The woman stared at the Mandalorian and ran into the path of the rebels weapons pointed at her target. She stumbled, clutching her side but did not fall in her mad dash to be reunited with the dangerous man. The Mandalorian saw her and dropped his blasters as she threw herself into his arms. The Mandalorian sank to his knees, his armored head dropping to her shoulder as he clutched her to him.

In Luke’s search for who she was, he had seen and felt the love she had for the stoic man with no face. Luke exhaled the breath he didn’t know he had been holding. Han did the same and chuckled, “Good, she’s his problem now.”

Luke smiled, but the next thought wiped it from his face, “Wait… Han did she have access to the comsystem?”

Han tore his eyes from the reunion, and the same thought occurred to him, “No… she’s been in the tent or with Leia the whole time.”

“Then how did he know she was here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BOOM! Reunited.  
> As always, let me know what you think!


	21. Short Hiatus

I apologize for this chapter being late. It is not writers block...

I am going through a painful divorce.

I'm leaving my home and everything I've known for 8 years.

But I am strong and I will make it through this. 

I'm moving into my new place sometime next month hopefully.

But until then, I have to prioritize my mental and emotional health over everything else.

I have not given up on this story, you will get the whole story I promise you. 

Just for now, I have to take a step back and work through this rough chapter of my own life. 

I love you all so much, I reread your comments everyday because they make me smile so big.

I hope to be back to you guys sooner than later. I need to buy a laptop since I've been using my soon to be ex-husband's. 

Love you all my Starwars Nerds!


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